Telephone contact from disaster zones

Finnish company Nokia has developed a system which can be used by aid organisations to gather and organise information when disasters occur and wars break out.

Nokia's mobile phones have uses other than making phone calls and sending text messages. At the request of two international aid organisations, Nokia has developed software which can help charitable organisations to gather vital data quickly and efficiently.

This is important as the manual collection of data on paper can take months. In the meantime, disease, famine and natural disasters have a chance to really take hold. If, on the other hand, vital information is sent via the mobile phone network, it will reach the people who can help almost as the disaster is unfolding, and the necessary assistance can be organised quickly.

Information about diseases at the press of a button
To gather and disseminate information via the mobile phone network, a questionnaire is uploaded to the aid organisation's server. From here the questionnaire can be sent to the mobile phones of selected people working in the organisation. They complete the questionnaire on the phone and send it back to the organisation's server, from where it is automatically transferred to the organisation's database. Each response is tagged with GPS location information.

People in the field can also obtain data from the organisation using the same technology. They can, for example, receive information about a patient's medical history and state of health or obtain information about local breakouts of a particular disease.

Potential for new customers
By equipping charitable organisations with the new type of mobile phones and software, Nokia hopes to encourage governments to appreciate mobile communication as a vital tool for social development, whether it means improving health, preventing famine or achieving education for all. Ideally, this will encourage governments to remove or reduce "luxury" taxes that raise the costs of communication beyond the reach of people on lower income.