COVID-19 Puts Digital Transformation Back On Agenda – GSMA report

As governments across the globe continue to respond to COVID-19’s devastation, the mobile sector is playing a crucial role in supporting efforts tackling the pandemic and enhancing health services response to it, according to a newly released report from GSMA.

While the report found that the pandemic has upended people’s lives, health and business sectors, people were using technological innovation to adapt to new ways of life during these uncertain times.

“In this unprecedented situation, people are quickly adapting to innovative ways of connecting and doing business empowered by connectivity, and digital transformation is no longer just a question but an action for many industries,” the report said.

The pandemic has changed fundamentally the way people communicate, work, shop, learn, and entertain, as life moves from offline to online.

In this unprecedented situation, people are quickly adapting to innovative ways of connecting and doing business empowered by connectivity.

Thus, the report says, the digital transformation is no longer just a question but an action for many industries.

It said growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has been significantly impacted by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, according to World Bank.

However, as combinations of ICTs and health, education and other services have gradually become a new norm, how to facilitate more effective use of these technologies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic can actually decide how strong Africa is going to return to its growth trajectory by adopting new business models and methodologies that emerged from this outbreak.

In African countries like Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa, information and communication technologies have been at the forefront of ensuring that social and physical distancing measures are observed.

Ghana also found ICTs as powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19.

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia this month launched an app designed to help in tracing people who have come into contact with COVID-19 positive individuals and link them to health professionals for urgent action to be taken.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

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