Qualcomm and USAID Working to Expand Access to Mobile Technology for the Public Good
This past week I had the pleasure of signing an MOU with USAID on behalf of Qualcomm. I was joined by Don Steinberg Deputy Administrator for USAID, and I am thrilled with the prospect of this collaboration.
Moving forward, Qualcomm and USAID will focus on programs that address:
- mWomen and closing the mobile phone gender gap
- Access to broadband
- mEducation
- Environmental sustainability
- Public safety and crime prevention
- mHealth
- Entrepreneurship
- Food security
It is our hope that the work we do together will result in successful and scalable projects that benefit people in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
USAID works in more than 100 countries to carry out U.S. foreign policy through the promotion of broad-scale initiatives that promote economic prosperity; strengthen democracy and good governance; protect human rights; improve global health, advance food security and agriculture; improve environmental sustainability and further education.
Qualcomm and USAID have a long history of working together through Qualcomm Wireless Reach. We are looking forward to continuing our initiatives to bring access to mobile technology to underserved communities around the world.
Through Wireless Reach, Qualcomm works with local and global partners like USAID. We have partnered with USAID on a number of projects such as Fishing with 3G Nets in Brazil. This program works to promote economic development and increase public safety for isolated fishermen who live in Santa Cruz, Bahia. Here, fishing is a primary source of income for many families, and poverty and overfishing lead to a reduction in resources that posed a threat to their way of life.
To address the problem, participating fishermen have been given wireless devices equipped with software that provides safety information, weather, data-tracking and access to an online market. This program empowers users to take charge of their income and expenses, more easily connect with their key markets, and better understand their own environment so they are able to make the most of available resources.
Other examples of collaboration with USAID and Wireless Reach include our project in El Salvador, Seguridad Inalambrica, which uses 3G technology to enable law enforcement and municipal government personnel to increase public safety through mapping and sharing information about crimes as they occur. This project is currently being used successfully in several municipalities and has the potential to be implemented in other cities in El Salvador and countries in the region.
Additionally, in the Philippines we have established an mHealth project with USAID called Wireless Access for Health, which successfully streamlines the reporting process at clinics and hospitals using 3G technologies by improving access to accurate and timely patient information. This project has expanded in just three years from four clinics to 37 in and outside of the Tarlac Province and will be expanding even further this year.
