IBM will put its super-computing data crunching to use in Sierra Leone, as part of the fight against the deadly disease Ebola.
It has launched a system which allows citizens to report Ebola-related issues and government, health agencies and others to keep track of the disease.
Citizens can use SMS or voice calls that are location-specific.
The data will then be analysed to identify correlations and highlight issues.
Already, regions with growing numbers of suspected Ebola cases have been pinpointed and the delivery of urgent supplies such as soap and electricity has been sped up.
Khadija Sesay, director of Sierra Leone’s open government initiative, said it had helped “open up a channel with the general public so that we can learn from their input and create actionable policies in the fight against Ebola”.
