Family Planning through the Mobile Phone, No Doctor Necessary! data sheet 4454 Views
The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University, has pioneered a new way to inform women of their fertility status using mobiles. IRH conducted proof of concept testing in India for an SMS-based delivery of the Standard Days Method (SDM) as an information based, low-cost and non-hormonal method of family planning.
SDM is a scientifically tested fertility awareness-based method that is recommended by WHO as a modern, natural family planning method. From the first day of menses, in a 26-32 day cycle, a woman’s most likely fertile days are from days 8 to 19. Avoiding intercourse during these days of the cycle has been tested to show up to 95% effectiveness against pregnancy.
Because of the high use of traditional methods for family planning, and the ubiquity of mobile phones, IRH thought of developing an innovative mobile platform for reproductive health called CycleTel™. Currently in pilot phase, women can subscribe to the service via SMS on the first day of the menses, after which, a text message is sent to her mobile indicating her fertility status as per the 8-19 day fertile window.
Founded in 1985, Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) has contributed to a range of health initiatives and is dedicated to helping women and men make informed choices about their reproductive health. In particular, our work focuses on:- Developing, testing and implementing simple and effective fertility awareness-based methods (FAM) of family planning, including the Standard Days Method®, TwoDay Method® and Lactational Amenorrhea Method, - Fostering fertility awareness among young adolescents (ages 10 to 14) in the context of self-worth and respect for others,- Reducing stigma and discrimination to improve HIV prevention and care.
Last week's tech salon, "Mobiles for Women and Women in Mobiles," brought together practitioners, researchers, and mobile developers. The event highlighted both the amazing women working in the field of mobiles, and also showcased the promise that mobiles offer to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.
Designed to encourage discussion, the tech salon featured both presentations and an open marketplace, where attendees mingled and shared their work and experiences.
This month, NYC will be abuzz (and grid-locked in traffic) with leaders and practitioners in town for two high-profile gatherings focused on international development: The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals and the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting.
With that opportunity and energy in mind, this month’s MobileActive.org Tech Salon (on Thursday Sept. 23rd) is themed “Mobiles for Women & Women in Mobile” - calling attention to the growing role of mobile technology in development, and particularly the role and needs of women in this field.
Through a mix of short presentations on projects & research, we will take a closer look at:
Barriers and Gaps Affecting mHealth in Low and Middle Income Countries: Policy White Paper data sheet 2301 Views
Author:
Mechael, P., Batavia, H., Kaonga, N., Searle, S., Kwan, A., Goldberger, A., Fu, L., Ossman, J.
Publication Date:
May 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
This White Paper, written by a team of researchers at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, examines and synthesizes the existing mHealth literature to assess the current state of mHealth knowledge, evaluate the impact of mHealth implementations in LMICs and to examine programming, policy and research-related barriers to and gaps in mHealth scale and sustainability.
The paper is divided into two main sections. The first section reviews and summarizes the peer-reviewed literature on mHealth initiatives (focus on LMICS) to highlight trends and challenges. The second section examines the existing mHealth policy environment, barriers and gaps, and key drivers needed for an enabling policy environment.
The major thematic areas include:
Treatment Compliance
Data Collection and Disease Surveillance
Health Information Systems and Point of Care Support
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Emergency Medical Response
The review identified significant gaps in mHealth knowledge stemming from the limited scale and scope of mHealth implementation and evaluation, a policy environment that does not link health objectives and related metrics to available mHealth tools and systems, and little investment in cost-benefit studies to assess mHealth value and health outcomes research to assess success factors and weed out poor investments.
The Mobile Minute is back with a video explaining the M-PESA mobile money service, news about maternal health insurance via mobiles, an app that helps users determine if a hybrid or plug-in car will be useful to their lives, a report on why you might want to turn off the geo-tagging system on your mobile, and FailFaire in The New York Times.
Family Planning via Mobile Phones: Proof-of-Concept Testing in India (CycleTel) data sheet 2761 Views
Author:
Katherine Sarah Lavoie, Victoria H. Jennings, Meredith Puleio, Priya Jha, Rebecka Lundgren
Publication Date:
Nov 2009
Publication Type:
Other
Abstract:
Results of proof-of-concept testing for an mHealth solution for reproductive health in Uttar Pradesh, India. The text messaging tool based on FrontlineSMS, is a family planning service that relies on the Standard Day Method system of birth control. This method of birth control depends on the woman's fertility cycles to avoid pregnancy. Women can text the date of their menses and user receives their fertility status. Additionally, women can receive information about other family planning options, and support. Presented are observations on the appropriatenss of the technology from focus group discussions. The authors share the input given by target users in the product and service design. Women tested the solution to give insight on feasibility and design.
Mobile Activism or Mobile Hype? data sheet 2351 Views
Author:
Firoze Manji
Publication Date:
Jan 2008
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
Based on two experiences using mobile phones in Africa to address women’s rights and social development, the author tries to understand whether mobile technology will bring social progress to the economically poor of Africa.
The author first examines mobile phone use in the campaign for the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, adopted by the African Union (AU)in 2003 and in need of ratification by 15 countries. The technical barriers to message transmission in the campaign and the message spamming that it attracted inhibited the success of this particular application of mobile technology but did not reduce the campaign effectiveness because the uniqueness of the cell phone campaign strategy drew a large amount of publicity for ratification.
In the second example, the UmNyango Project intended to promote and protect the rights of rural women in the province of KwaZulu Natal (KZN), South Africa, from domestic violence against women and landlessness amongst women. The project created "an SMS gateway through which messages could be distributed to all those enrolled in the project, and it enabled every individual to send messages to the organisers and to the local paralegal officers where they needed assistance with regard to any incidence of violence or threat to their access to land....In practice, the project found SMS to be prohibitively expensive, despite the fact that some level of subsidy was provided by the project towards the cost of SMS." The author states that, "Mobile phones, after all the hype, are like pencils, tools for communication.... Like all technologies, tools do not themselves do anything." He uses the example of SMS hate mail messages to support the position that effects of technology result from the underlying values and morals of its developers, not from the tools themselves, and concludes: "In capitalist societies, all technologies have the potential for magnifying and amplifying social differentiation. It is only through the imposition of the democratic will of citizens can this inherent tendency of technologies be overcome."
Today's Mobile Minute covers the mobile gender gap, mobiles in the classroom that allow deaf children to learn alongside hearing children, a study about mobile over-sharing, mobile credits on cell phones during disasters, post-Haiti disaster management with ICTs, and a 90-second interview with Patricia Mechael about mobile health.
The Child Africa International School in Kabale, Uganda encourages the use of SMS at school in order to foster communication between hearing and non-hearing students, as described in "Deaf Children are Being Heard in Africa." (Hat tip Textually.org)
According to a Webroot Study of 1,645 social network users, 55% of people polled said "they worry over loss of privacy incurred from using geolocation data" on mobile phones."
"Disaster Response 2.0: Learning from Haiti" looks at how ICTs were used after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, covering mobile donations, Ushahidi, and how ICTs can help during emergencies.
[Mobile Minute Disclaimer: The Mobile Minute is a quick round-up of interesting stories that have come across our RSS and Twitter feeds to keep you informed of the rapid pace of innovation. Read them and enjoy them, but know that we have not deeply investigated these news items. For more in-depth information about the ever-growing field of mobile tech for social change, check out our blog-posts, white papers and research, how-tos, and case studies.]
The Case for mHealth in Developing Countries data sheet 2574 Views
Author:
Patricia N. Mechael
Publication Date:
Jan 2009
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to encourage reflection and discussion around the potential of mHealth in developing countries and to consider how early experiences can inform the way forward. Toward this aim, I synthesize many reviews and presentations from the eight years I have been studying the evolution of mobile phones and health in developing countries. I include observations and discussions that are now shaping the creation of mHealth as a field, to highlight the ingredients we need to move from a series of pilot projects and isolated business opportunities to a full-scale maximization of health-related benefits.
I begin by reviewing the strategic priorities within global health, where mobile telephony can have the greatest impact, along with organic health-related uses of mobile phones, and examples of formal mHealth interventions. I then demonstrate the potential for mobile phones to become an extension and an integral component of eHealth, describing how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used in health care, as well as mHealth, as a subset of mServices: using mobile devices to deliver services such as banking and health. I also show how trends and interests are converging among key stakeholders within the mHealth ecosystem, thus forming a foundation on which we can scale up and sustain more and better mHealth activities. Finally, I present some tactical guidance for a way forward that will further the objectives of both public health and business, particularly in outreach efforts to emerging markets, the bottom of the pyramid, and the next billion mobile phone subscribers.
After Access - Challenges Facing Mobile-only Internet Users in the Developing World data sheet 2418 Views
Author:
Gitau, Shikoh, Marsden, Gary, & Donner, Jonathan
Publication Date:
Apr 2010
Publication Type:
Journal article
Abstract:
This study reports results of an ethnographic action research study, exploring mobile-centric internet use. Over the course of 13 weeks, eight women, each a member of a livelihoods collective in urban Cape Town, South Africa, received training to make use of the data (internet) features on the phones they already owned. None of the women had previous exposure to PCs or the internet. Activities focused on social networking, entertainment, information search, and, in particular, job searches. Results of the exercise reveal both the promise of, and barriers to, mobile internet use by a potentially large community of first-time, mobilecentric users. Discussion focuses on the importance of selfexpression and identity management in the refinement of online and offline presences, and considers these forces relative to issues of gender and socioeconomic status.
An Exploratory Study of Unsupervised Mobile Learning in Rural India data sheet 2853 Views
Author:
Kumar, A., Tewari, A., Shroff, G., Chittamuru, D., Kam, M., and Canny, J.
ISSN/ISBN Number:
978
Publication Date:
Apr 2010
Publication Type:
Other
Abstract:
Cellphones have the potential to improve education for the millions of underprivileged users in the developing world. However, mobile learning in developing countries remains under-studied. In this paper, we argue that cellphones are a perfect vehicle for making educational opportunities accessible to rural children in places and times that are more convenient than formal schooling. We carried out participant observations to identify the opportunities in their everyday lives for mobile learning. We next conducted a 26-week study to investigate the extent to which rural children will voluntarily make use of cellphones to access educational content.
Our results show a reasonable level of academic learning and motivation. We also report on the social context around these results. Our goal is to examine the feasibility of mobile learning in out-of-school settings in rural, underdeveloped areas, and to help more researchers learn how to undertake similarly difficult studies around mobile computing in the developing world.
M4Girls: Empowering Female Students data sheet 5483 Views
The following is the executive summary of M4Girls, prepared by the Mindset Network and Neil Butcher and Associates, and reprinted here with permission from Mindset.
Introduction
The M4girls project is a partnership between Nokia, Mindset Network, and the Department of Education (North West Province/South Africa) to test the provision of educational content on a mobile phone platform to girl learners. The project targeted the development of Mathematics competencies in Grade Ten girl learners from underserved communities, and aimed to empower girl learners in the following ways:
•Access to mathematics (as a pilot subject area and driven by priority areas in education in South Africa);
•Exposure to a complementary platform of curriculum-aligned Mathematics content (Mindset content) on mobile phones; and
•Exposure to technology in the form of mobile phones.
Women and Mobile: A Global Opportunity data sheet 2572 Views
Author:
GSMA, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Vital Wave Consulting, women, mobile ownership, access to telecommunications, poverty, gender gap
Publication Date:
Feb 2010
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Mobile phone ownership in low and middle-income countries has skyrocketed in the past several years. But a woman is still 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than a man. This figure increases to 23% if she lives in Africa, 24% if she lives in the Middle East, and 37% if she lives in South Asia. Closing this gender gap would bring the benefits of mobile phones to an additional 300 million women. By extending the benefits of mobile phone ownership to more women, a host of social and economic goals can be advanced.
Mobile phone ownership provides distinct benefits to women, including improved access to educational, health, business and employment opportunities. Women surveyed across low and middle-income countries on three continents believe that a mobile phone helps them lead a more secure, connected and productive life.
The Millennium Villages project is led and executed by the communities on the ground in Africa. Throughout the continent, more than 400,000 people are leading this bold initiative, giving their time, skills, and resources to make the project a success and one that is relevant to local conditions. Because Millennium Villages are an investment toward a sustainable end to extreme poverty, Millennium Village communities strengthen their local governments and institutions and certify the preparation and implementation of the interventions in their community. This is necessary to ensure that their development will become sustainable and self-sufficient.
The Millennium Village project is based on the findings of the UN Millennium Project and is led by the science, policy and planning teams at The Earth Institute, Millennium Promise and the United Nations Development Programme.
SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa is a new collection of essays and case studies examining how SMS has been used in Africa for acticism. Essays include Amanda Atwood’s report on Kubatana’s experiences in Zimbabwe setting up mobiles as a means of sharing news outside of government propaganda, to Bukeni Waruzi’s essay on collecting data on children’s rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004. SMS Uprising is published by Fahamu, a British-based organization with a focus on information services for Africa.
SMS Uprising provides the reader with a decent understanding of the state of mobile SMS usage in Africa today. The essays are written by writers, developers, activists, and researchers who are committed to Africa, and cover a multitude of ways SMS can be applied for advocacy work – everything from alerts about political unrest to sharing health information. The book is divided into two parts: context and case studies.
SMS Uprising is significant for many reasons not least because it has been edited by an African woman activist. Often initiatives in Africa are studied by people who are quite distant from the continent or are academics who are remote from the grassroots of the subject under discussion. The book is also unique in giving an insight into how activists and social change advocates are addressing Africa’s many challenges from within, and how they are using mobile telephone technology to facilitate these changes...The intention is that the information contained within the book will lead to greater reflection about the real potential and limitations of mobile technology.
The Vodafone Americas Foundation is announcing the last call for nominations for the second annual Wireless Innovation Project, a competition to identify and reward the most promising advances in wireless related technologies that can be used to solve critical problems around the globe. Proposals will be accepted through February 1, 2010, with the final winners announced on April 19, 2010 at the annual Global Philanthropy Forum in Redwood City, California.
We have been rather quiet in our "Deconstructing Mobile" series as other projects have taken priority. We are picking up the thread again to continue to demystify the many myths surrounding mobiles in development and shed facts, evidence, and data on many of the over-hyped projects and ideas. One area with much hype is the recent debate about "mobiles and rape" in the Congo. Laura Seay, an assistant professor of political science at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, recently wrote on her blog a great post that looks for actual evidence linking rape and mobiles. We wrote about this campaign a while back already but her post goes deeper in looking at the facts. It is aptly entitled: Show me the Data. We are reposting it here with her permission.
Show me the Data by Laura Seay
A couple of months ago, a certain grad student/atrocity humor blogger who shall remain nameless emailed with the following question: "Could you point me towards anyone who's done research on the linkage / lack thereof between the mineral trade and sexual violence?" It seems that in her graduate school endeavors, solid research requires actual evidence to support the "cell phones/minerals cause rape" thesis that's become quite popular due to efforts of various activist groups, most notably the Enough Project.
It just so happened that this particular email arrived just a few days after I gave a talk on the subject of minerals and violence in the Congo, so I had already been searching for such evidence.
Long story short: there isn't any. As far as I can tell, there has as yet been no published report that systematically demonstrates a rigorous causal relationship between the mineral trade and the epidemic of sexual violence in the eastern Congo.
Editacuja is a Brazilian startup focused in knowledge management and contend development services for education, training and culture.
Integrate emerging technologies to provide innovative solutions to companies, universities and schools, enabling cross border iniciatives with high ROI
Works with a multi-media approach, enabling mobile, press, audiovisual and web media services and products.
With a multi-disciplinary team, Editacuja adds value and knowledge for projects that can educate and relate.
Mobile phones have been a boon to developing countries and to social development. Access to mobiles may indeed allow for better medical information, change the way farmers grow and sell crops, expand the way families interact, influence the way governments treat their citizens, and improve the way students learn in schools. But what is the real story behind these benefits? And who really gains from them? In our ongoing series on Mobile Myths and Realities: Deconstructing Mobile" we turn to how women are or are not benefitting from the ibiquity of mobile telephony. What did we find?
The Impact of Mobile Phones on the Status of Women in India data sheet 4695 Views
Author:
Dayoung Lee
Publication Date:
May 2009
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
Mobile phones have grown at an extraordinary rate throughout the developing world in recent years. They are potentially an invaluable economic asset to the poor and an important tool for strengthening social ties. Mobile phones may also help women overcome physical boundaries, especially in places where they are separated from their support networks and bound within their husband’s social sphere.
This paper examines the impact of mobile phones on the status of women in India. Using nation-wide cross-sectional data at the individual level, the author builds on Jensen and Oster’s model for measuring women’s status. The author uses domestic violence, decision-making autonomy, child preferences and economic independence as proxies for bargaining power and status of women in their household and society.
Mobile phones significantly decrease both men and women’s tolerance for domestic violence, increase women’s autonomy in mobility and economic independence, but do not have significant effects on child preferences and other measures of autonomy. Where the effects are significant, they are also large and in some cases equivalent to more than five years of education. These results suggest that the Government of India and those of other countries should consider mobile phones as a policy instrument for empowering women.
In India, especially in rural areas, men are often in charge of the family mobile phone. But Subhi Quaraishi, CEO of ZMQ Software Systems, thinks that phones are a great way to reach women as well.
"The goal of our program is to use technology to empower women," said Quaraishi, of ZMQ's new pilot program.
ZMQ is currently running a program to provide women with information on prenatal care via SMS. The messages, which are all in Hindi, contain information on vaccinations, exercise, diet, medication, and how to deal with emergencies that arrive during pregnancy. This is the only program of its kind in India, although other programs -- like a Grameen Bank sponsored program in Ghana -- also use SMS to give advice on prenatal care.
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then-Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.
Since that time, more than 195,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.
