Orange has launched mPedigree, an SMS-based service that enables authentication of drugs, in Cameroon and Kenya following an MoU signed earlier this year between the mobile operator and the organisation behind the service (also called mPedigree). The service is designed to counteract the threat of counterfeit drugs. Up to 30 percent of drugs in the two countries are potentially fakes, says Orange. Services such as mPedigree label drugs packaging with a scratch-off label that reveals a code to be sent via SMS for a manufacturer or vendor to authenticate. The service is currently being introduced in healthcare centres, says Orange.

The mobile operator is also currently working with Qualcomm, the US technology vendor, on a project that is also involved with drugs, in this case the automation of procurement of anti-retroviral drugs for public clinics. Orange has linked up with the vendor’s Wireless Reach initiative which has worked on mobile health projects elsewhere in the world.