Girl Summit 2014: The long term view of fulfilling potential and educational opportunities

Today marks the launch of the first Girl Summit in London, to raise awareness for the global campaign against FGM and the forced marriage of girls and young women. The summit is a major milestone in a long journey of promoting these causes by a range of NGO’s including Plan UK and the NSPCC, amongst others. The event has the backing of the UK government’s Department for International Development, who have given considerable support including moves to establish policy and to add strength to the UK’s position in condemning these abhorrent practices.

One of the key points of the summit is to highlight the long-term view of the social benefits to women and girls of bringing an end to these procedures and activities, by providing them with the opportunity to fulfill their true potential in society in their own right rather than be controlled, both physically and socially. The fight against FGM is clearly not just a case of preventing this cruel and appalling practice and the long-term physical and psychological harm it can cause, but coupled with preventing forced early marriage, it is a case of restoring pride and self-esteem, while working towards a point at which girls can look forward to a future with real possibilities of personal development, through making their own fundamental choices about their lives. Pursuing a structured education for instance, should be a right and a viable option rather than having their lives controlled and being led into forced marriage arrangements. When girls and young women in the communities concerned are able to take back control in this way rather than be controlled, the resulting rewards of educational attainment can provide huge benefits to them as well as their whole community, through greater employment opportunities and ultimately greater economic stability.

In the spirit of celebrating the concept of promoting opportunity for women and girls in some of the world’s more challenging cultural environments, and in the spirit of one of main themes of this blog – that is, highlighting where technology, innovation and education are applied to support and improve people’s lives in developing nations – my ‘tribute’ to today’s special event is to look at two recent ‘good news’ stories that focus on the rise of women and girls through technology and education, in South Africa and Kenya.

Digital learning programme for rural Kenyan girls

According to Vincent Matinde’s recent story on the itwebafrica.com website, a project is in place to provide digital learning to 25,000 girls in rural Kenya. ‘Project iMlango’ will provide the necessary computers and high-speed internet needed to connect 195 rural schools so that the girls can be educated within their communities. The scheme is supported by several UK companies (Avanti, sQuid, Whizz Education and Camara Education) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Lynne Featherstone, International Development Minister for DFID is quoted in the article, as she draws a direct connection between the causes of today’s Girl Summit and the planned programme:

“…Education is vital to helping improve the life chances of millions of marginalised girls and protecting them from harmful practices like child and forced marriage…”

The full article can be viewed here:

Rural Kenyan girls to get e-learning boost
http://www.itwebafrica.com/ict-and-governance/256-kenya/233244-rural-kenyan-girls-to-get-e-learning-boost

‘Girls Invent Tomorrow’: Mentoring South African girls in computer skills

A new initiative to provide IT training and computing skills to girls in South Africa has been launched as part of the African EduWeek conference at the Sandron Convention Centre in Johannesburg. As reported in Arthur Goldstruck’s insightful article in the South African Business Daily Live website, the Intel-sponsored ‘Girls Invent Tomorrow’ workshop aims to provide as much emphasis on computer education as to the supply of IT hardware and equipment to schools. Combined with another Intel-backed scheme, the ‘She Will Connect’ project which is committed to bridging the digital divide by expanding the digital literacy skills of young women in emerging countries, the two projects aim to avoid the mistakes made with previous concepts of this nature, where resources were poured in to providing expensive equipment whilst training and educational resources were neglected, resulting in much of the investment in ‘kit’ being wasted and underused.

As quoted in the article, Thabani Khube, corporate affairs director for Intel South Africa explains Intel’s position, rationalising their sense of corporate social responsibility in relation to the aim to prioritise education and training as much as physical investment in technology:

“…Our approach is to change mindsets….In most corporate social investment, technology deployment is about ticking a box and then moving on. At Intel, education is a huge focus in itself…”

The complete article can be viewed here:

SIGN POST: A generation of IT girls on the rise
http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2014/07/20/sign-post-a-generation-of-it-girls-on-the-rise

Reducing the gender gap in access to ICT: some African initiatives towards change

In March of this year, the ITU and UNESCO-sponsored Broadband Commission for Digital Development met in Mexico City to endorse a new report coordinated by UNESCO, entitled ‘Technology, Broadband and Education: Advancing the Education for All Agenda’.

At the meeting, an ambitious target was set to reduce the gender gap that persists in terms of access and use of the internet, with a new advocacy target: “…to ensure gender equality in broadband access by 2220..”. This is against the backdrop of general recognition that a huge amount of work is required if the Millennium Development Goals of ‘Universal Primary Education’ and ‘Education for All’ are to be achieved. As an article from the UNESCO website on the meeting in March states:-

‘…Less than three years away from the target date for achieving these goals, 61 million children of primary-school age, and a further 71 million of lower secondary-school age, are not in school. In addition, close to 793 million adults – 64% of them women – lack literacy skills, with the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia…’

The article continues with reference to data that was presented at the meeting, highlighting a 25% disparity between men and women in terms of those who used the internet, with the figure being far greater in Sub-Saharan Africa, going up to 45%.

Having these stats to hand is hardly necessary to support the argument that much more needs to be done to close the gender gap – or gender divide (as part of the wider ‘digital divide’), in terms of the number of women in comparison to men who have access to the internet, training in ICT and access to ICT resources in developing countries. Thankfully there seems to be far more global recognition that the existing barriers to opportunity afforded to women in these communities, in terms of career development, social empowerment and global self-expression, will continue to perpetuate without a considerable improvement in the level of accessthey have to ICT education and resources.

Here I have highlighted a few examples of some of the projects and initiatives which have tried to tackle these inequalities, in various communities across Africa, which have been featured in the press in the past year.

Akirachix Training Project: Teaching ICT to high school girls from the slums of Nairobi

“Currently, our country is basking in recognition and appreciation of a robust tech. scene, but we only have a handful of women making an impact in this field”

These are the words of Linda Kamau, Akirachix Training Project Lead, in an article on their work in Nairobi in the BizTech Africa website in May of this year. Akirachix are an all-girl ICT organisation who started offering ICT training to a small group of girls from the slums of Nairobi back in 2010, with the project continuing to develop since then. She goes on to explain how they try to help with other issues as part of the initiative, that may be acting as an obstacle to students continued participation in the scheme:

“Teaching the girls about computers and building their appreciation of science is one thing, but we cannot achieve much when they have to withdraw from class to attend to personal issues. We therefore ensure that we facilitate school attendance with things like bus fare so that they don’t miss class, and give them personal effects for proper hygiene…”

As the article explains, in the coming year since publication the group were intent on further enhancing the curricula they could offer to students to include training in financial literacy and psychological support, with a view to gaining recognition and further input from stakeholders such as the Kenya National Examinations Council in the future.

Senegal: Aiming to educate 100 girls in ICT each year

This is the aim of Bitilokho NDiaye, Technical Consultant in charge of Gender Issues at the Senegal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, from an interview with The Soleil earlier this year.

In the interview, reported online in the Afrique IT News website in April, Bitilokho explained how they want to “…encourage computer access to women by giving them low-cost computers so that they can be trained in communications…” with the aim of “…promoting female entrepreneurship by making sure that that there are SME headed by women.” Summing up the interview, she explained that the scheme had been a success so far, and hoped to present those who had participated and the projects they had undertaken in ICT since attending the training course.

Telecentre Women Campaign: Joint Scheme in Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia to encourage women to embrace technology through ICT training

As reported on the telecentre.org blog last month, since July the Rwanda Telecentre Network (RTN) Southern Africa Telecentre Network (SATNET) and KenTel have been implementing a digital literacy program of training for women in both rural and urban communities. Working in conjunction with Microsoft, the aim if the initiative as explained in the article is to:

‘…empower disadvantaged community women with knowledge of ICTs for personal growth and expanded opportunities for better lives. Hence boost countries’ aspirations of transforming from an agricultural-based economy to a knowledge-based one….’

One of the students who attended the training explained how she was able to benefit from it with the running of the cooperative of 25 women she was involved in, which produced sweaters and scarves:

“we can now use Microsoft Excel to calculate our profits, book keeping, design a flyer to market our product using Ms Word, and prepare a presentation Powerpoint…”

Chipatala Cha Pa Foni (CCPF): Mobile phone-based initiative in Malawi aims to help women responsible for sourcing medical services and facilities for their family and communities

An article earlier this month in the All Africa website, referencing the Malawi News Agency, explains how a recent development is helping women in rural areas of Malawi (with particular reference to the Nkhotakota region) in their search for medical services and health advice, a requirement that affects whole communities but inevitably falls to women to provide a solution for them.

Chipatala Cha Pa Foni (CCPF), which means ‘Health Centre By Phone’ in English, is a scheme that embraces mobile ICT to specifically help those women who have young children, are pregnant or of child-bearing age,  by provided them with vital healthcare information regarding maternal, neonatal and child-health concerns via their mobile phones.

The result of a competition jointly run by the Malawi Ministry of Health and global NGOs Concern Worldwide and Village Reach, the scheme uses contracts between Village Reach and mobile provider Airtel as its technology platform. Through this integration of mobile technology, it has been possible to extend the reach of existing women’s healthcare education programmes to those who need them most.

Village Reach Program Manager Zachanak Jezman explains the CCPF initiative in more detail:

“CCPF has two components, the first one being a toll free case management hotline which allows women of child bearing age, pregnant women and women of under-five children to talk directly to health workers by dialing 54747 on any Airtel number.

“The second component allows the three groups of targeted women to register with CCPF to receive timely and specialized tips and reminders on healthy information,” he said.

During the launch of CCPF in Nkhotakota, the article quotes National Chairman for the Presidential Initiative on Safe Motherhood, Senior Chief Kwataine as he described the launch:

“…a special day for the three targeted groups of women…CCPF is one way of promoting safe motherhood. It provides a platform to interact with (a health) worker for a long period without actually going to the (health) facility…Women who have reservations about going (to health a facility) will also be served. It’s up to us to use it so that Malawi should continue doing well on maternal health…”

Mobile technologies supporting vital information services to farmers in Africa: Some ICT4 Agriculture success stories

With the ICT4Ag conference well underway in Kigali, it seemed a timely opportunity to highlight some of the ICT4Ag initiatives that have been put into action across Africa, with a focus on the power of mobile devices to bring real benefits to rural farmers and significantly improve their lives and those of the communities in which they live. I’ve tried to bring together three different initiatives in different African states, to give an overview of how this technology can be put to such effective use in meeting the challenges that farmers are facing, and to present them in a way that can inform the uninitiated as much as those with a keen interest in ICT4D.

Ghana: SMS assists local farmers to improve the results of their efforts in rice farming

Non-governmental organisations and G8 member states have made Ghana one of their top priorities in terms of providing financial support and advice to improve farming methods and to help farmers harness the new technologies that can assist them in getting the most from the resources they have available. Under the G8 banner, the New Alliance of Food Security and Nutrition was launched in 2012 with commitments from African leaders, private sector partners and G8 members to make substantial investments towards improving food security, agricultural practices and nutrition levels for 50 million people by 2022. The ‘Feed the Future’ project is their main US initiative for input and involvement in the New Alliance, which includes a significant level of focus on Ghana.

At a far more local level, an article and accompanying video by reporter Nan Boakye-Yiadom for Ghanaian website and radio station Citifm Online was a fascinating source of information on mobile tech helping farmers in the field, as it gave such an interesting and and accessible account of the focus of the article – rural farmer Abdul Rahman Takoro and his family – and the difficulties and challenges they face with subsistence rice farming, and trying to make it an affordable and even profitable venture.

The article explains how only three years ago, Abdul could not afford to send all his eight children to school, unable to earn a living to provide for his family through rice farming as he lacked both the resources and agricultural education to be able to make the farm a success.  Thanks to the involvement of Esoko, a private communication company in Ghana, Abdul was able to benefit from an SMS message system to gain information on weather changes, improved farming methods and market prices. The article explains the difficulties that farmers face in getting the information and the help they need through traditional means:

‘…Currently the only way most farmers get such information is through extension officers. The government employees meet with farmers to provide information, but they barely reach a quarter of the total number of farmers in Ghana. As well, according to information from Ghana’s Finance Ministry, about 70 per cent of extension officers will retire from active service in the next three years…’

The article goes on the explain how the Esoko initiative works, and reinforces the idea that private companies and contractors have a huge part to play in assisting with these projects – which in the end can help to improve the economy in the company in which they operate, by increasing the contribution that farming can make to the nation’s GDP:

‘…Esoko has representatives who visit about 50 different markets in the various regions each day and compile the going price of foods. They relay that information to the Esoko headquarters, where it is packaged into simple and comprehensive SMS and distributed to the farmers and traders who are also subscribed on the platform. Farmers also receive information on weather patterns, when to plough their land, when to sow, apply fertilizer, check weeds and harvest…Takoro is one of about 120,000 farmers in the Northern Region making use of the information from Esoko. He’s been receiving the SMS messages for two years. “What we gain from Esoko is immeasurable,” he said. “They alert us with prices in markets nationwide, tell me whatever I produce I can send it there to sell and get interest. They also help us with weather forecasts too…” …Takoro says with the information he can now decide whether to send his produce to the market for sale or sell it to middle men and women, considering which of the options will make him get more money…’

Soil testing results by SMS: Crop Nutrition providing innovative service to Kenyan farmers

Crop Nutrition, and agribusiness company, have set up an innovative service to speed up the process of soil testing and analysis for farmers in Kenya.

Crop Nutrition provide special specimen bags to farmers through their network of field advisors, who train the farmers in the correct methods for collecting the samples, which are then delivered to Crop Nutrition’s laboratory via local agro dealers. Costs are kept low due to the high volumes involved and the level of sophistication of the company’s testing equipment, which also contributes to a much faster turnaround than other more traditional methods of soil testing. The results are then sent via SMS message directly to the farmer, again cutting down on the time it takes from initial sample collection to when the farmer is able to act on the results of their analysis.

USAID’s briefing paper explains how Crop Nutrition assume that local representatives will assist farmers with understanding the implications of the results, if needed, and the importance of soil testing in global farming:

‘…Crop Nutrition works on the expectation that if the results and recommendations are unclear to the farmers, they will be interpreted for the farmers by the agro dealer or field advisor. Soil testing is important for any farmer to know what minerals their soil is deficient in and what type of fertilizer or other inputs may be used to increase soil health and fertility, yields, and resistance to pests and disease…’

The paper can be viewed at via the e-agriculture.org website, (which also provides further information on this initiative), and provides further information on the users and business model of the project, the costs of which are provided entirely by Crop Nutrition, again a private company, as part of their operational expenses. One additional point from the paper is worth reposting here, and that is the anticipated impact of the initiative:

‘…Crop Nutrition lab reports include technical recommendations so that farmers apply the correct fertilizers, lime or other inputs to reduce production costs and improve yields. When correctly used by farmers, this information can contribute to larger crop yields. Agro dealers also receive a small commission for facilitating the service…’

Uganda: ‘Community Knowledge Workers’ provide farmers with invaluable information and market data in exchange for completing surveys

The Grameen Foundation was set up in 1997 to assist communities in developing countries to address their own challenges and reach their full potential, through the provision and application of the right tools and resources. Their website explains further the ethos behind the work they do in trying to help people in the world’s poorest countries:

‘…Our collaborative approach to poverty alleviation recognizes the multidimensional and complex nature of global poverty. We work with private sector companies, non-governmental organizations, government agencies and others to ensure we achieve lasting impact in the regions where we work.’

As explained in an article from the ICT in Agriculture website and as part of Grameen’s work developing new agricultural programmes in Uganda, the organisation has set up the Community Knowledge Worker (CKW) programme with financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The program involved the training of over 800 village-level representatives (CKW’s) to provide agricultural ‘extension services’ to farmers in exchange for their participation in completing mobile device-based surveys. These extension services include the provision of advice in relation to agricultural methods, livestock, crop diseases, weather forecasts and other relevant information. In return, the information provided by the completed surveys helps Grameen and their partner organisations with their research to build up a clearer picture of the issues the farmers are facing – which in turn helps in providing the solutions and advice they are provided with.

This simple, cyclical process has helped local farming communities in Uganda by improving their agricultural yields, whilst the farmers involved have been able to achieve better prices through greater market knowledge of the products they produce. It has also created employment through the recruitment of CKW’s, who, as the article suggests, can further increase the benefits of this two-way cyclical approach, by providing solar-energy services whilst in the field alongside their survey data-collection activities, and thereby increase their earnings at the same time:

‘…CKWs are trained to 1) provide a link to agricultural research institutions and extension services and administer surveys, and 2) to set up off-grid electrical charging micro-enterprises using solar energy. These enterprises can earn CWKs as much as 40 USD/month, which doubles the 1.25 USD/day previously earned by 60% of CKWs.’

The article states that due to access to CKW’s, farmers in Eastern Uganda have seen a 17 percent increase in the prices they achieve for maize compared to those who do not have access to these resources, a clear indication that when applied simply and effectively, with a combination of technology and common-sense human input, these new innovations can be highly successful in improving people’s lives.

Participatory Video: communities tell their stories with a bit of help and a camera

When I began writing this blog, the intention was to focus on computing, be it mobile or static, and how, with the addition of some training and support, and (with a bit of luck) a readily available connection to the internet, it could change the lives of people and their communities in the developing world, in a sustainable, educational way.

Previous posts have looked at a range of different initiatives and innovations: The work of Computer Aid International, who supply computing hardware and expertise directly to schools, hospitals and NGO’s in the field; the power of e-Readers being harnessed for good in education thanks to the efforts of Worldreader, and the work of Frontline SMS in providing the means to organisations to be able to reach out and inform their communities through SMS text messages, accessible to anyone with a standard mobile phone.

In each of these instances, I’ve tried to approach the subject in hand in an ‘introductory’ manner, presenting the project or initiative in question as if to newcomers, and celebrating the efforts of the organisations concerned in such a way that is hopefully accessible not just to the ICT4Dev community, but to a much wider audience.

To this end, this post changes tack slightly, moving away from devices with keyboards and keypads and data, but still focussing on a tool that recent developments in technology have made more accessible and usable by just about anyone, than ever before: the (not so humble) video camera. In particular, I’m going to look at participatory video (PV), which whilst having been around as a concept for some time, has really began to emerge as a powerful tool for developing communities to use to engage and inform the outside world of the problems and issues they face, and therefore, hopefully, a tool for change.

For the uninitiated, and in basic ‘starter-kit’ terms, the concept of participatory video in action is when a group of people or community are given the means and training to produce their own video, the idea being that video as a medium is very accessible and gives rapid results that can be used to deliver and present the message a community are trying to convey.

Participatory video enables the groups involved to engage with the outside world; to present their story – their ‘version of events’ – that can be easily distributed globally and cheaply via the internet, thus empowering them to be able to communicate directly as ‘themselves’ to organisations and individuals beyond their community, in a positive and constructive way. By its nature, the process itself of producing the videos can have a powerfully collaborative effect on the people involved, bringing them together as they learn to use the equipment, apply the skills they’ve learnt through training, and produce their film, that can document, record and ultimately address the challenges they confront in everyday life.

There are many different practitioners and organisations that are utilising this simple yet powerful tool, to assist in bringing the stories of disparate and marginalised communities out into the open. InsightShare stand out as leaders in this field, and from the research I have carried out, appear to have taken it to a different level in terms of the variety of projects they have assisted with and the global reach of their expertise. Taking a consultative as well as hands-on approach and in many different countries and environments, they have advised a range of international development agencies, NGO’s and research institutions on PV methodology.

The About Us page of their website, under the heading ‘Our Work’, puts it very succinctly, explaining what their work demonstrates and what their core aims are:

“Our work…

–       Aims to go beyond developing local participation to achieve full local ownership;

–       Has a strong focus on the Participatory Video process going on behind the technology & its ability to strengthen and support other participatory development processes;

–       Shows a unique combination of technical and facilitation skills, combines media and technology with participatory approaches and community engagement;

–       Develops and improves PV tools constantly to enhance the design, set up and implementation of projects;

–       Builds power for local users, involves people, give NGOs the tools to do this…”

Two of the recent projects involving InsightShare’s practitioners and expertise are the Women’s Access to Justice workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand in August 2013, and a scoping and partnership building visit to the Isiolo and Marsabit counties of northern Kenya, with a view to further training and support to assist the local communities in PV.

Whilst these projects differ greatly in their nature or the environment in which they’re based, it would seem that the core aims of PV, in giving those involved a voice and a chance to be heard beyond the boundaries of their own communities, are strongly present in both.

For more information on the work of InsightShare, visit their website at: www.insightshare.org

Related articles

• Mobile tech making a difference: learning to read and public health awareness (benjaminsmithuk.wordpress.com)
• Internet.org, balloons and practical solutions (benjaminsmithuk.wordpress.com)

Mobile tech making a difference: learning to read and public health awareness

My last post looked at the importance of prioritising basic IT hardware provision, as much as focussing on the grander, long-term schemes being proposed to provide internet connectivity ‘to all’, such as internet.org and Loon. It goes without saying that the provision of computers and the necessary training and expertise in the schools, colleges and hospitals of developing nations is vital, if those institutions are to fully embrace the digital revolution that the global visionaries mentioned above hope to achieve.

This time around it’s all about mobile technology in developing countries, where the advances and developments that have been made over a relatively short period have been very impressive. Again, referencing my last post, the provision of hardware with these mobile solutions is just as important, and in the two examples I’ve featured here, either the hardware is provided, or the technology involved harnesses the power of the device that’s already in many people’s pockets – the standard mobile phone.

I’ve deliberately picked two very different examples in terms of their aims and approach, and there have been many other varied initiatives in this area, all with their own merits, successes and inevitable issues and challenges in terms of what they hoped to achieve, and how they’ve faired over time.

The two initiatives I’ve focussed on have had a huge impact on the communities they’ve helped and in very different ways, but there is a common theme of connecting disparate, hard-to-reach communities that without the resources these initiatives provide, would be less connected and less able to tackle the basic challenges of life, through greater access to healthcare information, and real, practical educational resources.

Worldreader – ‘Books for all’

Worldreader, a US-based global non-profit organisation, aim to provide widespread access to digital books to children, their families and communities with the aim of improving the lives of potentially millions of people. According to their website, (http://www.worldreader.org/what-we-do/) as of June 2013 they have:

‘…put over 662,008 e-books – and the life-changing, power-creating ideas contained within them – into the hands of 4,300 children in sub-Saharan Africa. Those children now read more, read better, and are improving their communities…’.

There are numerous stories and articles on the web about the successes of Worldreaders’ projects, and how they have had a major, positive impact on education and improved literacy for many people through the provision of reading material via e-readers. What made them stand out for me was in a reference to their Africa programs, where it was noted that Worldreader have made a point of ensuring that many of the books they provide are from African publishers and authors. This clearly has obvious benefits, in that students can engage more easily with content that is familiar to them, and schools are able to use local textbooks that are more relevant and accessible to students and teachers alike. It also seems to be a sensible, ethical approach, to be promoting the work of local authors and publishers, as well as providing access to international books when needed.

For an interesting local insight into one of WorldReader’s recent projects, see a recent blog post from Worldreader’s own blog, on their work at the Dwankhozi Primary School in Zambia: http://www.worldreader.org/blog/new-country-new-project-empowering-zambian-children-with-books/

For more general information on Worldreader, visit their main website at: http://www.worldreader.org/

Frontline SMS

Frontline SMS has been around for a while now, with its first prototype product being launched in 2005, but it’s still worth highlighting as one of the great innovations in truly global mobile communications that has been used so effectively in the developing world, to make a positive difference to people’s lives and the communities in which they live.

The Frontline SMS software is freely available and was developed to give communities and organisations the ability to have two-way connectivity and group text-messaging services in locations without reliable internet access, via standard mobile phone networks. Whilst the service has developed over the years to harness further developments, such as web portals and most recently cloud technology, the principles behind the initiative remain the same.

One example of Frontline SMS in action is with a current project in Kenya, where a combined effort between local communities and Kenyan journalists through the International Media Support organisation (www.i-m-s.dk) is aiming to utilise Frontline SMS services to raise awareness and build up a knowledge base on diabetes in Kenya. In an article on the initiative, Laura Walker Hudson, CEO of Social Impact Lab Foundation who developed Frontline SMS, puts it simply:

“…New technology makes life saving information available for patients and next of kin with limited access to media. Social media and crowd-sourced media are moving the standards and Frontline SMS has been instrumental in using their 2.0 platform to bring a voice to thousands of diabetes affected Kenyans…”

The whole article can be viewed here:
http://www.frontlinesms.com/2013/09/19/a-mobile-phone-text-messaging-service-and-a-new-webportal-are-bridging-the-information-gap-on-diabetes-in-kenya-where-the-disease-annually-kills-more-people-than-hivaids/

The Frontline SMS software is free to download and use. The text messages themselves are the only cost, so the system provides an extremely affordable way of reaching a wider audience when other means of digital connectivity are not readily available. The service has proved invaluable, particularly in communicating messages on public health issues and gathering information from patients and their communities, as can be seen above.

For more information on Frontline SMS, visit their website at: http://www.frontlinesms.com/