Wireless technology for Social Change:

Trends in Mobile Use by NGO’s

By: Lerato Makate

About the report

• It was put together by the UN Foundation-Vodaphone Group Foundation Partnerships

• Public private alliance using strategic technology programs to strengthen UN’s humanitarian efforts worldwide.

• Partnership has 3 core commitments

Core Commitments of Partnership

• Develop rapid response to telecommunications teams, aid in disaster relief

• Develop health data systems to improve access to health data to combat diseases

• Promote research innovative initiatives using technology as an agent and tool for international development

NGO’s usage of Mobile technology for social change

• Survey conducted Dec 2007 a- Jan 2008

• 560 NGO workers participated in finding out how NGO’s use wireless technology to help various social courses

• 86% NGO employees use mobile technology for their work

• 99%of technology users characterise mobile technology as positive

• Majority described it as revolutionary

Diverse use of mobile application by NGO’s

• Most common use is; voice and text messages

• 39% usage in other ways = photo’s &video’s

• 28% data connect transfer

• 27% multimedia messaging

• 8% employees use technology for more sofisticated uses = data analysis • 10% mapping

Perceived Benefits of NGO mobile use

• 95% Time saving, ability to quickly mobilize and organize individuals

• 91% reaching audiences that were previously difficult or impossible to reach

• 74% ability to transmit data, quickly and accurately

• 67% ability to transmit data more quickly

• 59% ability to gather data more quickly

• 76% of NGO users said they would increase their uses in the future

Some facts

• 3.5 billion phones available worldwide

• This has changed how communities communicate

• Report aims to see how NGO’s use mobile wireless technology for social purposes to help with some problems

Innovative uses driving change

3 specific areas were looked at:

• 1. Health • 2. Environment and• 3. Humanitarian relief

• There have been a number of creative, innovative uses

• There is entrepreneurship within the development of mobile technology use for social change

• Mobile pilot projects are giving introductory frameworks to replicate them on a larger scale

Global Health & media technology

• 2007 Millenium Development Goals stated:

• Number of people dying from HIV/AIDS increased by 2.9 million in 2006 preventative measures were failing

• 2005 15 million children lost both parents to AIDS

• 1 billion people live in extreme poverty, 75% in rural areas

• Health conditions in rural areas are poor

Informa Telecoms research

• 2007 mobile networks covered 90% global population

• 2008 mobile phone penetration will reach 50% worldwide

• With over 3 billion subscriptions (contracts)

Case study 1: Aftercare: South Africa

• Created by Cell-Life NGO in Cape Town

• To work with the public health system & workers to provide home based care for HIV/AIDS patients on ARV’s

• Aftercare worker assigned 15-20 patients

• Visits patients home, one-on-one discussions about treatment and patients life

• Using mobile phone captures patients information

• Relay information via sms to Cell-Life database

• Where info is managed and collected making for accurate records and

Case Study 2: AED-Satelife: Uganda & Mozambique

• AED(Academic Educational Development)-Satelife

• Works through handheld computers to deliver medical information at points of caregiving – clinics

• Delivers medical information on diseases, treatment guidelines, continuing education material

• Nurses also receive national and international news

• AED-Satelife has customised software to track patients and keep records electronically

• Clinics required to send information to health ministries

• Stream health data collected from remote areas

• It was able to contain a typhoid fever outbreak

• It was also introduced inMozambique

• It was also popular as it kept nurses updated with local gossip news

Case Study 3: DataDyne: Kenya & Zambia

• Established by Dr Selanikio public health doctor working at Centre for Disease Control & Prevention in the US. He was also an IT consultant for Wall Street before his work in health.

• DataDyne.org is an non profit project dedicated to increasing access to public health data through mobile software solutions.

• Inspired buy CDC project called EpiInfo that uses Epi Surveyor to access and modify and collect health data

• 2006 DataDyne entered into a partnership with UN Foundation & Vodaphone Group and WHO and Kenya and Zambia health Ministries launched this project to the health system

• Pilot project was Measles Initiative reducing Measles world wide

Case Study 3: SexInfo: USA

• 2005 gonorrhea rates among african american youths of 18-25 had increased by 100% percent

• Deborah Levine excecutive director: Internet Sexuality Information Services (ISIS-Inc.) wanted to help curb sexual diseases in youths.

• Found that 85% youths had mobile phones and means of communication was texting.

• SexInfo was then developed

• 1st – informed community organizations to serve as advisors on the board of SexInfo

SexInfo Conti…

• Focus groups held with youths on how they would prefer to receive sexual health information they needed.

• ISIS-Inc conducted research that highlight FAQ’s about sexual health by youths

• SexInfo was designed to provide this information to youth free and confidential

• Youth oriented clinics and social services were also approached to reach the youth

• To drive popularity, TV public service announcements were produced using rap musicians and also on BET and MTV and now can be found on YouTube

Some Challenges

• Funds are an issue in broadening the scale of these pilot projects

• Skills also need to be developed

• Back-end computer infrastructure is needed in in most developing countries to allow for the accurate arrangement and access of the information

• It is important to establish strategic partnerships for funding and skills to broaden the effect of these systems.

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