Wireless technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGO

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Wireless technology for Social ChangeTrends in
Mobile Use by NGOs
By Lerato Makate
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About the report

• It was put together by the UN Foundation-Vodaphone
  Group Foundation Partnerships
• Public private alliance using strategic
  technology programs to strengthen UNs
  humanitarian efforts worldwide.
• Partnership has 3 core commitments

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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

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NGOs usage of Mobile technology for social change

• Survey conducted Dec 2007 a- Jan 2008
• 560 NGO workers participated in finding out how
  NGOs use wireless technology to help various
  social courses
• 86 NGO employees use mobile technology for their
  work
• 99of technology users characterise mobile
  technology as positive
• Majority described it as revolutionary

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Diverse use of mobile application by NGOs

• Most common use is voice and text messages
• 39 usage in other ways photos videos
• 28 data connect transfer
• 27 multimedia messaging
• 8 employees use technology for more sofisticated
  uses data analysis
• 10 mapping

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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

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Some facts

• 3.5 billion phones available worldwide
• This has changed how communities communicate
• Report aims to see how NGOs use mobile wireless
  technology for social purposes to help with some
  problems

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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

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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

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Informa Telecoms research

• 2007 mobile networks covered 90 global
  population
• 2008 mobile phone penetration will reach 50
  worldwide
• With over 3 billion subscriptions (contracts)

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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 ARVs
• 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

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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

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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

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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

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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 FAQs
  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

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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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THE END