About — AETRF

Why We Are Writing

A network that has done this before is reconvening. When Kambale Musavuli, a Congolese technologist and member of our network, spoke publicly about the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it brought the emergency directly to our attention.

Our founders, Betty Enyonam Kumahor and Emira Woods, drawing on the network’s experience across Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, decided to reconvene AETRF and direct its proven model toward the response under way. We are practical, ready, and grounded in work we have already delivered.

Who We Are

AETRF is a global working group of technologists who mobilise collective, technology-driven skills and resources in response to public-health emergencies across the continent.

The network was co-founded by Betty Enyonam Kumahor and Emira Woods, with David Walton, during the West African Ebola epidemic on a simple conviction: when a crisis hits, technologists should be able to contribute meaningfully and fast.

What We Can Offer the Response

AETRF brings a standing global network that can be mobilised rapidly around a specific emergency, a proven model for cataloguing, building, and deploying fit-for-purpose tools, and a convening format that turns dispersed expertise into practical support on the ground.

Rapid mobilisation of technologists around a clearly defined emergency response need.

Direct collaboration with central coordinating bodies, as demonstrated in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

A working model for weekly convening, brokering collaborations, and surfacing fit-for-purpose tools.

Hackathon and working-group formats that translate technical expertise into deployable solutions.

Leadership & Reconvening Group

The reconvening group combines public-health response experience, technical leadership, policy expertise, investment, and regional insight.

Betty Kumahor

Co-Founder

The Cobalt Partners; part of the West Africa Ebola response across Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia; contributor to Schmidt Futures Tech+COVID19.

Emira Woods

Co-Founder & Chairperson

Foreign-policy expert, Green Leadership Trust, and contributor to Ebola response work in Liberia.

Stephen Musoke

Technical Lead

Architect behind UgandaEMR national health records and technology leader at The Cobalt Partners.

Roberta Annan

Partner

Impact investor and founder or chair of Annan Capital Partners, IFFAC, and Africa Fashion Foundation.

Kambale Musavuli

Convening Member

DRC-native technologist, founder of Aether Strategies, and analyst at the Center for Research on Congo.

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji

Partner

Co-founder of Andela and Flutterwave, and founder of Future Africa.

Track Record Since 2014

AETRF was built during the West African Ebola epidemic and designed to reconvene when new emergencies required coordinated technology support.

What the Network Has Built

Weekly online convening during the 2014–2016 Ebola response

AETRF catalogued technology solutions, brokered collaborations, and worked directly with central coordinating units in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

ThoughtWorks Uganda RapidPro Hackathon

The network enhanced RapidPro, a UNICEF tool used by healthcare workers, for deployment to countries affected by the disease.

Africa Open E-health Hackathon

This effort aimed to build an Africa Information Technology Army prepared to respond to future health crises, disasters, and large-scale emergencies.

Across the Ebola response, the network built over 45 solutions deployed across all affected countries and beyond.

Three Recommendations from the 2014 Ebola Response

01

Increase political commitment to stop Ebola

AETRF urged African leaders to make epidemic response a top-level political priority and back that commitment with operational support.

02

Launch a national call center for Ebola

The network recommended a trusted national channel for reporting, guidance, and response coordination during the emergency.

03

Establish a dedicated emergency health information platform

AETRF called for stronger use of radio, television, and social media to promote hygiene, precautions, and verified public-health information.

Who Answered the Call

Organisations represented

CASE-Liberia ThoughtWorks iSpace Johns Hopkins / World Bank Ebola Response Mansa Colabs Gebeya SBTS Group Medic Mobile Open Society Foundations Coders4Africa UNICEF AITI-KACE Green Advocates Intl Frontpage Africa WHO Nairobi Securities Exchange Safaricom Alpha Voicelots

Countries represented

Liberia Sierra Leone Ghana DR Congo Kenya Uganda Rwanda South Africa Ethiopia Nigeria Cameroon United States United Kingdom Brazil India

Reconvened for COVID-19

During COVID-19, the network reconvened and engaged at institutional level. AETRF served as an evaluator group on the DFID Frontier Technology Hub #COVIDaction calls, contributed to the Schmidt Futures Tech+COVID19 initiative, and wrote to the Africa CDC seeking direct collaboration on the continental response.

“It is not a matter of whether there will be another epidemic, but when.”

AETRF founding observation after the 2014 Ebola response

AETRF: A Working Group of Technologists