Telecoms infrastructure company Ericsson says it plans to connect one million refugees both in Africa and globally through a mobile initiative dubbed ‘Refugees United’.

Ericsson has partnered with mobile networks such as MTN, Airtel and Safaricom in Africa to help establish Refugees United.

The companies plan for the service to help reconnect families directly with missing loved ones through a safe, secure mobile phone search tool that allows for full anonymity and which is free of charge.

Using mobile technology such as SMS and USSD, displaced refugees are then connected with their relatives and loved ones.

Initially started in Kenya in partnership with mobile operator Safaricom, Refugees United is now active in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is planned to be available in South Sudan.

People living in refugee camps register their information via their mobiles and then choose how much information they want to share on the system.

A refugee who has registered on the service can then receive responses from other refugees that think the description fits the profile of a relative or friend.

And for those refugees that are illiterate, assisted registration in local languages has been rolled out as well.

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, vice president of sustainability and corporate responsibility at Ericsson, said that in 2010 some 30,000 refugees had registered to use the service.

This figure has since swelled to 300,000 refugees while the plan is to connect one million refugees with their loved ones by 2015, added Weidman-Grunewald.

“Mobile technology is the best way to help connect people,” Weidman-Grunewald said.

“Refugee camps have mobile phones and the service can be accessed on a simple $20 feature phone,” she added.

Weidman-Grunewald; however, explained that one of the main challenges of the service has been a lack of knowledge about it among people in refugee camps.

She said that this problem is; though, being addressed through public service announcements and word of mouth.

Other African mobile phone refugee programmes

This is not the first time that mobile phone companies have tried to address the plight of refugees.

Last year, ITWeb Africa reported that Kuwaiti headquartered mobile operator Zain and the Vodafone Foundation Instant Network rolled out extended phone signal coverage to South Sudan’s biggest refugee camp Yida in Unity State.

The extended coverage was expected to support the humanitarian efforts of United Nations (UN) aid workers in the area.

The Vodafone Foundation Instant Network specialises in rapid mobile coverage that can be extended to a region in the case of emergency, offering what it says is “easy transportation, rapid activation, and smart connectivity.”

The Vodafone organisation uses what it calls an “ultraportable solution” that weighs 32 kilograms and can be transported in four suitcases.

The technology can then be activated in 40 minutes, and a standalone network established can then support “free local voice and SMS, as well as remote connectivity”.