Senegal’s recent stamping out of Ebola was achieved not only through its rapid infectious disease control work, but also by using a novel SMS-driven platform originally designed to help people manage diabetes.
On 29 August, Senegal’s first — and only — case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed in a young man who had direct contact with an Ebola patient in Guinea and then travelled, by road, to Dakar. Together with WHO and partners, the Government of Senegal launched an immediate, broad-based and well-coordinated response that stopped the virus dead in its tracks.
SMS warnings about Ebola and how to prevent it
As part of a massive public awareness effort, Senegal’s Ministry of Health sent 4 million SMS messages to the general public warning of the dangers of Ebola and how to prevent it. The messages, driven by the WHO-supported “mDiabetes” platform, were targeted at people living in the capital city of Dakar and St-Louis, a heavily populated region in the country.
