By Byron Mutingwende
One of the leading mobile telephony companies, NetOne, has gone a gear up in terms of raising awareness on the need to promote preventive behaviour against outbreaks like cholera among Zimbabwean citizens.
Speaking during a massive clean-up campaign in the Harare Central Business District (CBD) on 1 November 2018, Mr. Brian Mutandiro, the NetOne Chief Commercial Officer revealed the company’s new shift towards the promotion of community behaviour that focuses on prevention of outbreaks like cholera and typhoid.
“Last month NetOne was in Budiriro and Glenview – the epicentres of cholera and typhoid, but we are now in Harare CBD with the same campaign. As we shift to the preventive mode, we have to make sure our environment is clean as we take the campaign to other areas outside the epicentres of these outbreaks,” Mr. Mutandiro said.
In doing so, the mobile telephony giant has partnered the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the City of Harare.
In the campaign in Budiriro and Glenview, NetOne pledged to dedicate 1 Cent for every SMS sent by its subscribers towards the cholera fight. Mr. Mutandiro revealed that a substantial amount of money (the exact amount realised so far to be announced next week) had been raised. He thanked Zimbabweans for heeding the NetOne call to support the initiative.
It has been realised that a majority of Zimbabweans are taking the initiative to look after the environment. Churches, particularly the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries led by Prophet Walter Magaya, are also embarking on massive clean-up campaigns in the communities as they did in Harare last week.
“We should put other issues beyond merely cleaning our environment into the bigger picture when it comes to preventing outbreaks like cholera and typhoid. These measures include making sure that local authorities provide clean and potable water.
“As NetOne, we invite other corporates and stakeholders to provide resources, financial and in kind, towards the cholera fight. As we continue with such campaigns, it will stimulate a positive behaviour change among members of the community,”