dtac and UNICEF team up to give Thai kids “best start”

dtac is joining forces with UNICEF to launch the “best start” initiative, which will provide free mobile information services to promote healthy mothers and children. The mobile phone will serve as the tool to convey lifesaving information to pregnant women, new mothers and babies, in order to ensure the best possible start in life.

Successful partnerships make positive impact

A component of Telenor Group’s corporate responsibility strategy is to “enable” access to information and services, thereby having a positive societal impact. Telenor is currently carrying out joint UNICEF initiatives in Serbia and Bangladesh, using the mobile phone as to tool to enable positive development in people’s lives.

“UNICEF has served as a strong partner for us, and one who recognizes the value of communications technology in reaching out to people. Telenor Group, dtac and UNICEF have now developed another great initiative that will enable families to live healthier in Thailand. This initiative shows dtac’s long-term commitment and focus on the well-being of Thai society, and we anticipate even more great outreach activities to stem from this partnership in Thailand,” said Ola Jo Tandre, Director Corporate Responsibility, Telenor Group.

Mobile phone = birth registration

An additional component to dtac’s role in the “Best start” initiative is the use of the mobile phones as a means of birth registration. Registering a birth means that a child will be in the public system and notified when vaccinations are required or it’s time for school enrollment. Many children in Thailand are still not officially registered, and therefore fall out of the system. This makes them more vulnerable to threats such as human trafficking. dtac and UNICEF see an opportunity for mobile technology to play a role in solving this problem.

“Currently the process to register births is too cumbersome. While more than 90% of births in Thailand are taking place in hospitals, many parents are still not completing the registration process. The mobile phone can serve as a way to engage these parents with information and registration reminders, as well as using the handset itself as a means of registration. This will help ensure basic rights to nationality, public services and education for Thai children,” explained Tandre.

UNICEF also engages the support of a local children’s hospital to help ensure high quality health information through its service. The health-related messages are not promotional but rather purely educational and scientifically accurate.

Dtac is committed to people of Thailand

“With the MOU signed with UNICEF, we are now ready to put this initiative into action. We see that using SMS service as a means to readily convey health and registration information as an effective start to this cooperation,” said Nattawan Sasipibool, Department Head, Social Responsibility, dtac. “Through this project we are deepening our commitment to the people of Thailand by effectively utilizing telecommunication technology to provide support to underserved groups, especially women and children in rural areas.”