Ericsson reconnects Refugees worldwide
On World Refugee Day - Ericsson, Refugees United and UNHCR launched a multi-country campaign with mobile operators to extend the use of mobile services to reconnect separated refugees. This campaign uses the latest Android app technology to extend the reach of the Refugees United service - enabling millions more refugees to use SMS, mobile-enabled browsing and the Android market to find their loved ones.via an anonymous database, and subsequently to connect using SMS or the internet.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said, "UNHCR is pleased to join with Ericsson to broaden the availability of the Refugees United application to a number of markets, in both the developed and developing world. Helping refugees locate their loved ones using mobile text messages and mobile internet is one of the many ways in which technology is changing our world and helping people reconnect. Ensuring this is done in a way that respects the privacy and security of individual refugees, UNHCR is proud to participate in this pioneering and highly successful initiative."
Since the launch of the service in September 2010, 41,000 refugees have registered. Among them are cousins Abdulahi Hussein Sheikh and Mohamed Ali Salah who were separated in 1991 when fleeing the troubles in Somalia and have since found each other through the service after 20 years without contact. In addition, Ericsson is launching the service in Kenya with Safaricom, and in Sweden and Denmark with the operator 3.
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