Barcelona, Feb 13: Grameenphone Ltd. was presented with the GSM Association's Global Mobile Award for‘Best use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development' for its HealthLine Service here at the 3GSM World Congress in the Spanish city of Barcelona yesterday evening.
The award was presented to Grameenphone CEO Erik Aas, during the GSMA's Annual Leadership Summit, in front of an audience of industry leaders and government Ministers from around the world.
"This was a very competitive category, we received more than 60 entries from operators, manufacturers, NGOs, charities and businesses and our independent judging panel had a real challenge on their hands to select a winner," said GSMA Chief Executive, Rob Conway." Healthline is a lifeline, particularly for mobile users in remote areas, our warmest congratulations to Grameenphone."
The HealthLine Service, implemented in cooperation with the Telemedicine Reference Center Limited, is a 24-hour Medical Call Center manned by Licensed Physicians and accessible to all Grameenphone subscribers.
"This is a great honor for Grameenphone. The GSMA award is a recognition of the initiatives taken up by Grameenphone to further facilitate the socio-economic development of Bangladesh," says Erik Aas, CEO of Grameenphone. "Grameenphone and the mobile industry represent a major part of the development of Bangladesh, and this initiative shows our commitment to the development of the country, the people and their well-being. The HealthLine Service will make primary health care services more accessible to a large number of people."
The HealthLine Service is an interactive teleconference between a GP caller seeking health- related advice or consultation and a licensed physician who would be available on a 24 hours a day and 7 days a week basis, to receive such calls. This effort of GrameenPhone is primarily intended to enhance the health consciousness of an individual by making a few categories of health information and medical services readily available to him over a phone call.
Some of the services initially available under this program include: Information on Doctor and Medical Facilities; Information on Drug or Pharmacy; Information on Laboratory Test Report (interpretation); Medical Advice/ Consultation from Doctor (for registered subscribers); and Help and advice during Medical Emergency.
Founded in 1987, The GSM Association (GSMA) is a global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 217 territories and countries of the world. In addition, more than 180 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as associate members. The Association's members serve more than 2 billion customers - over 82% of the world's mobile phone users.
In cooperation with the GSMA, Gramenphone launched another unique service called the Community Information Centers (CICs) last year. The CICs are shared premises run by local entrepreneurs and designed to provide access to the Internet and other information-based services in rural areas through Grameenphone's nationwide EDGE connectivity. The CICs are serving the rural areas which do not have any other access to the Internet. Presently, there are about 500 CICs in operation throughout Bangladesh.