Christopher Amuchwa, a student of Uganda Christian University, Mukono (UCU) in, 3rd year and offering a Bachelor of Laws has designed an application (App) that will help in the national fight against COVID-19 (virus). He also calls himself an “android developer”.
The App called ‘Covid Guide’ in its simplistic user interface brings all the information about the virus for the end user with the help of a few commands. In the App, you will find contacts for the different RDCs and their deputies, Ministry of Health, Red Cross, World Health Organization, the Police, and contacts for the market list that the Kampala Capital City Authority released a while ago.
“I was looking at making it more like the USSD approach combined with a chat like user interface” he explains. Just like how you would dial digits on your phone (to explain USSD in context of the App), all you have to do is type the command that corresponds with the information you are looking for on the app. The commands are not case sensitive and they include “helpline” to call the ministry of health, “market” to get the list of available vendors, “taskforce” to view the list of contacts in the task force, “police” to get contacts of police, “MOH”, “news” “updates”, “WHO”, “red cross”, “tips”, “symptoms”, “safety”, “safety”, “update app” to update the app, or typing the name of a district to get the contacts of the district RDCs.” He told Campus Bee.
He also plans to add more languages to the app.
Once you enter those commands, and press send, you receive on your screen, information related to the commands. For example, the command “updates” transfers the user to the information on the official government data regarding the virus.
Interestingly, the App has not yet been uploaded to Google Playstore, and neither is it available for iOS users. In the meantime, he is working with some of his colleagues to create the Apple version.
“…the app is not yet in any app store or playstore but it is in use through a link that is simply tapped and it is downloaded” he said in the interview. He has been sharing a Google Drive link to the intended users of the App as he has been facing many challenges uploading it to Google Playstore.
The reason he is using the link is to avoid spending any money on the App.
“I am trying to see how best we can get the App at no cost …., maximise the little we have to bring out an App without actually using any money. The only money we have spent here is for data”. According to him, Google requires some payment to be made before an App can be uploaded to the store or to get a playstore account.
He also finds social media to be the quickest way to share any information online, explaining why he shares the link for the download on various social media platforms.
“People approach social media more than playstore now days”, he observes.
He was inspired by a friend (Ronald) who is in Wuhan, China, where the virus originated. He remembers watching a video from his friend about Bill Gates in 2015 talking about an impending pandemic. In the video, the billionaire asks how prepared the world is should we get a pandemic and said “that there are small things” that people could do to prepare, things like video games, apps. He opted for the app considering the African context.
It is also a starting point for him he says “getting a skill an seeing how best one can go around with it” and be able to have something to do after graduating from the university in 2021.
“I am trying to see how best I can perfect a skill”, referring to his self taught classes in App development as a way to prepare for his own future outside law, where need be and creating apps.
The App was created in February this year, as he kept receiving information about the virus from his friend in China. It was not until last week that he released the final version.
When asked why it took him long to create the app and to release it to the users, he was worried about being criticized by the government for spreading fake news.
“When you release the App on your own, people start doubting you, especially the ministry” he says, as these people do not know he is to release any COVID like data before the ministry had started to announce measures, or cases.
He also wanted to understand the concept of the App, but his friends had been using it before releasing a copy to the world for download. His lecturers who loved the concept advised him to release it.
The download link for the App is https://bit.ly/covid-guideapp
