The Philippines is one of the most disaster hit countries in the world owing to its geographical location. It is visited by an average of 20 typhoons a year and that is why it is prone to floods, landslides, storm surges and other weather related calamities and disasters.
The Philippines was hit by the strongest typhoon on record, “Haiyan” or locally known as Yolanda which resulted in thousands of deaths, billions in US Dollars worth of damages to infrastructure and agriculture and has left millions homeless.
In addition, the Philippines is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire where volcanic and seismic activities are the norm rather than the exception. Being earthquake prone, this country has the natural hazards of landslides, soil liquefaction and tsunamis.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils and Offices have been set up all over the countries local government units as part of RA 10210. But each LGU has to formulate its own DRRM Manual specifically designed for local conditions. Part of these are protocols governing response in times of disasters and emergencies.
A new development as per experiences in LGU DRRM is response to local emergencies that mainly covers health and peace and order. The response time is critical for such emergencies and communications is critical.
It would be logical that such communications be simple and widely deliverable to most members of the community and the stakeholders. The prevailing widespread use of smartphones and utilitarian apps will then come into play in filling the gaps in conventional communications.
The GooZam App
•Each year, 170,000 Filipinos die from cardiovascular diseases, up from 85,000 more than 20 years ago, according to a 2009 study by the Department of Health. That’s a mortality rate way more than those caused by typhoons that hit the country every year. Yet, like a thief in the night, cardiovascular disease quietly sneaks into our homes and hospital beds, snuffing the life out of 19 Filipinos each hour.
These are the deaths that do not make headlines, but diseases of the heart and the vascular system have remained the top two causes of death in the country since 1993.
Source: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/178609/cardiovascular-disease-is-still-the-countrys-top-killer#ixzz4BEe5NIaP.
Accessed June 11, 2016.
• According to the latest WHO data published in May 2014 Road Traffic Accidents Deaths in Philippines reached 9,758 or 1.87% of total deaths. The age adjusted Death Rate is 11.56 per 100,000 of population ranks Philippines #123 in the world.
Source: http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/philippines-road-traffic-accidents. Access June 11, 2016.
• For many Americans, the ability to call 911 is the primary reason they own a cell phone. Layton, Julia. “How 9-1-1 Works.” How Stuff Works. 2014. Accessed: June 11, 2016.
• Over 240 million calls are made to 911 in the U.S. each year. https://www.nena.org/?page=911Statistics
• Over 70% of 911 calls in the United States are placed from wireless phones, and the rate is increasing. https://www.nena.org/?page=911Statistics
• An emergency is a life-threatening situation, where every second counts, such as a heart attack, uncontrolled asthma attack, childbirth in progress, any event involving large amounts of blood, uncontrolled fire, a life-threatening event, such as a knife fight, an armed robbery in progress, or a serious car accident (not a fender bender).
Some Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) report 15%–20% of incoming 911 calls are non-emergencies. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/911-wireless-services
GooZam sees a need and solution
GooZam believes that many of the deaths or severe impairments caused by life-threatening events, can still be mitigated and that survivability could be that extra few minutes of CPR until the ambulance or emergency transport arrives.
In today’s age where everything is uberized, on demand and based on nearest location GooZam has envisioned a solution that pretty much determines whether you make it or not.
At the GooZam Organization, the maker of the GooZam App, the potential distressed person’s best scenario for rescue is through a multi-channel and redundant App that can rapidly hail skilled onsite rescue in tandem of making that conventional 911 call. While 911 or like services are making their way, a Physician, Nurse, or off-duty EMT or firefighter might reach you for intervention.
The GooZam Organization envisions that developing Good Samaritans through the GooZam philosophy of GeoVolunteering and CPR/First-Aid training in tandem of equipping them with the GooZam App, with the cloud based system infrastructure, is an ideal solution for emergent situation.
GeoVolunteering
The coined term “GeoVolunteer” is the life of the app. The term Geo refers to geographical location. This means that the nearest volunteer to the distressed can respond at the soonest time possible; minutes before any of the proper authorities arrive. In any emergency situation each second between the arrival of the police or an ambulance can be the definition of whether a victim survives or not.
GooZam’s solution is built on providing the app and an on-premise GooZam GeoVolunteer to increase a person’s optimal survival scenario.
The Challenge Ahead In today’s scenario of a globalized setting, massive migrations, Earthquakes, Tsunami, Calamities, Storms, Floods, and Terrorism in diverse places, in addition to a country’s local needs, applying centralized robust first response has greatly and overwhelmingly risen beyond today’s conventional capacity. The GooZam Organization sees this challenge and revolves around the concept attempting to rapidly scale the GooZam GeoVolunteering philosophy and method.
About the app and functionality
Pressing any of the six distress buttons does 6 actions, simultaneously;
1. Dials, auto-activates speakers for hands-free emergencies.
2. SMS Emergency Contacts with the distressed locations,
3. Hails a GeoVolunteer within proximity,
4. Shoots an email to the insurance carrier.
5. Using data, updates an emergency management web portal.
6. If enabled posts the configured emergency message onto your Facebook Timeline and sends it to your chosen emergency Messenger contacts.
In pre-GooZam App days, if a (Distressed) person had an emergent situation, he or she was limited to conventional calls or SMS or mobile apps that are not multi-channel messaging capable for redundancy and geo-context optimized to get help. We (The Goozam Organization) provide a solution for any distressed person to dial central 911 or like services, SMS those on their Emergency Contact list, and send notification to different registered volunteers/agencies for emergency rescue during a distressed circumstance through the single push of a button. The app has a server component that allows utility for first response and volunteer organizations to manage their service activities.
Goozam provides an intellectual messaging and geo-context logistical solution in a mobile application (In Android for now) that interacts with the GooZam server. A user must register on the app to facilitate use of its functionalities. After successfully registering, through a single push of a button, the app will make a call to 911 or to any configured emergency number, SMS to those on their “Emergency Contacts”, send notification to registered volunteers, and initiate dialogue with the support services. Most settings are configurable by accessing the app menu.
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