UNICEF and Bharti Airtel have partnered to collaborate in 17 African countries by rolling out UNICEF health and education apps for free.

The aim of the partnership is to improve access to health and education-related information while pushing various innovative projects supported by UNICEF.

UNICEF health, education and youth-focused content will be made available to Airtel customers for free across the 17 African countries, with UNICEF making its RapidPro suite of apps available on the network.

"Airtel is committed to providing innovative solutions that overcome access and quality challenges around the delivery of services. Our partnership with UNICEF provides an opportunity to deploy mHealth innovations that can support healthcare systems and provide helpful education-related information," said Christian de Faria, chief executive officer (CEO) of Airtel Africa.

UNICEF launched RapidPro, a free, open-source platform that hosts multiple apps, in September last year, having developed it alongside Rwandan software firm Nyuruka.

One app, mHero, has been extensively deployed in West Africa to help tackle the Ebola crisis through messages about care and prevention and the sharing of training information.

Other apps include EduTrac - a data-collection system that helps schools collect and manage data on aspects such as attendance - and U-Report, which allows anyone with a mobile phone to share their observations and ideas on a wide range of development issues. In Zambia, U-Report has been used to link people to the resources of the National AIDS Council, with SMS used to spread messages about HIV/AIDS.

The partnership covers 17 countries - Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

"Access to information is a basic human right, and is fundamental to UNICEF's innovation agenda," said Sharad Sapara, Director of UNICEF's Innovation Centre based in Nairobi.

"Without access to information children and young people are stifled and cannot make the right decisions on matters concerning them. By improving connectivity, this partnership has the potential to empower millions of African children and youth with information and opportunities to help them become agents of change in their societies."

The partnership follows in the wake of other initiatives from mobile operators in offering zero-rated services. The GSMA launched the mHealth Ecosystem Partnership last year along with Gemalto, Hello Doctor, Lifesaver, Mobenzi, Mobilium, MTN, Omega Diagnostics and Samsung, aiming to deliver mHealth services to pregnant women and mothers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Airtel, along with Tigo, has played a key role in the advent of Facebook's Internet.org app, which provides a number of basic internet services for free and has already launched in five African countries.