The new service is made possible by the partnership between VOA and AudioNow, a mobile distribution provider. The VOA Somali Service broadcasts are available on any phone, 24 hours a day, by dialing 020 3519 3010.
VOA Director David Ensor says the new “call to listen” service is another example of the way technology can be harnessed to reach people who need information the most. “This new mobile service gives the large Somali diaspora community in Great Britain, and others who are concerned about the drought that has killed thousands of people in Somalia and throughout the Horn of Africa, the ability to get up to date information quickly and easily,” Ensor says.
VOA has been providing comprehensive on-the-ground coverage of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Africa through its vast network of reporters in the region. VOA programs are available on radio, television, the Internet, mobile, and an array of social media sites.
AudioNow’s proprietary, patent-pending technology allows any fixed or mobile phone to access live audio programming across all mobile platforms. In the past months VOA and AudioNow have also inaugurated new “call to listen” service in Guinea, Liberia and Latin America.
For more about VOA visit our website at www.voanews.com. For media inquiries contact Kyle King in Washington at kking@voanews.com. An online version of this release is available at www.insidevoa.com.
The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 123 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.
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