Flowminder works with Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) and Vodafone Ghana to produce official statistics using de-identified mobile operator data, to strengthen humanitarian and development decision-making in the country.
This collaboration, which is first of its kind in Ghana, and one of the first in Africa, is aimed at taking advantage of technology to transform the production of official statistics.
This project relies on the use of de-identified (anonymised) and aggregated telecommunications data, provided by Vodafone Ghana, to generate population predictions for sustainable development. The data, in combination with more traditional data sources such as household surveys, provide useful information on the mobility and characteristics of the Ghanaian population, which can be used for a wide range of humanitarian and development applications such as public health, disaster preparedness, or transportation planning.
“If we want to achieve the SDGs, we need to invest in data systems, and we are confident that our successful partnership with Vodafone Ghana and Flowminder is the way forward to leverage data for good”.
— Omar Seidu, Head of Demographic Statistics and SDGs Coordinator at Ghana Statistical Service
Flowminder, as part of this partnership, is empowering GSS with new approaches to analysing and harnessing data as well as responding to emerging opportunities and challenges.
Flowminder is providing services along the full length of the data value chain of mobile operator data, from the data access solution to supporting decision making with capacity strengthening integrated throughout the project, working in line with Vodafone's global privacy principles, GSMA data protection guidelines and the Ghanaian data protection regulations.
This [collaboration] is certainly a proof that telecommunications such as ours can leverage the strengths of their core business to do good in a more consistent and sustainable way. We pledge our commitment to ensure that data is mined for the good of every Ghanaian.
— Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana
This project is funded by the Vodafone Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and has the potential to save lives by providing accurate and relevant insights to the government of Ghana. Read more about this project in the Ghanaian press
