praekelt foundation

The Mobile Minute: Apps in Asia, the Results of a Youth Survey in South Africa, and Mobile Devices vs. PCs

Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Sep 22, 2011

Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on a new mobile frequency breakthrough, comparisons between mobile devices and PCs, the results of a mobile-based South African youth sex survey, the growth of apps in the Asia-Pacific region, and a look at the future of the global mobile payment industry.

  • Researchers at Rice University have developed a new technology that allows mobile devices to use the same frequency to both talk and listen to cell towers. Normally, two frequencies are needed to transmit and receive wireless data; the new technology could allow operators to double the capacity of their towers.
  • A new study from the International Data Corporation predicts that mobile Internet users will outnumber PC Internet users by 2015. Read Write Web reports that although smartphones are a big part of the shift, the release of tablet devices like the iPad give the predictions of mobile-dominance more credence.
  • The Praekelt Foundation recently released the results of its "Youth Sex Survey," which received more than 130,000 responses via the mobile platform Young Africa Live. The survey asked users of the social portal questions about their sexual health and opinions about sex and relationships; AudienceScapes reports on some of the responses: "Findings included a high percentage (44 percent) of South African youth admitting they are sexually active at the same time that they are significantly concerned about HIV/AIDS – 81 percent of respondents indicated they equate 'not telling a sexual partner that you carry the virus' with outright murder." (Read more about the Praekelt Foundation and Young Africa Live here.) 
  • Mobile applications are huge in the Asia-Pacific region; a study by the analyst firm Ovum estimates that "total number of mobile apps downloaded could reach 14 billion in 2016." TechCircle reports that the region already anticipates 5 billion app downloads for 2011, and that estimated revenue from paid mobile applications could reach $871 this year.
  • If you like charts, check out this graphic depicting a prediction of the global mobile payments market (based off data from Juniper Research) by the year 2015. Divided into eight worldwide regions, the graph (and research) shows how the world will use mobile payments (including near field communications, mobile payments/transfers, and regular purchase of goods).


[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.]

Image courtesy Flickr user QiFei
 

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Mobile Stats for Africa: Video Report on the Growth of Mobiles

Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Sep 15, 2011

The Praekelt Foundation, a South African organization that runs several mobile-based programs in South Africa, recently produced a catchy video infographic of mobile statistics for Africa. Looking at accessibility, growth, and usage, the video gives a good look at how mobiles have taken off in in the continent of Africa.



The video covers a lot of facts about mobiles, from a breakdown of the rapid growth of mobile phones compared to other forms of media (like radio and television) to the huge drop in price points (the first mobile phone cost US $3995 in 1973 compared to roughly US $15 for certain models today). Some facts from the video:

  • "Today the number of SMSs sent and received everyday exceeds the population of the planet"
  • "In 2002 there were 49 million cellphones in Africa, now there are 500 million"
  • "In Africa, over 95% of mobile users are pre-paid subscribers"

The video also covers other uses of mobile phones such as Please Call Me messages (in which pre-paid mobile users who have used up their airtime send a free message requesting a call back from whomever they want to speak to) and mobile payments, reporting that almost 11% of Kenya's GDP goes through the M-PESA system. M-PESA, a mobile money transfer system, registers almost 10,000 new people each day to use mobile phones to transfer money credits.

If you're curious about the mobile situation in Africa, take a few minutes to watch!
 

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Project Masiluleke: Comprehensive HIV Care With Mobiles

Posted by MohiniBhavsar on Nov 24, 2010

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Project Masiluleke: Comprehensive HIV Care With Mobiles data sheet 4266 Views

Over 5 million people in South Africa are living with HIV and the country has the highest burden of TB-HIV co-infection. TB treatment completion and cure rates fall below 50% in almost half of the districts. Project Masiluleke, Zulu for to give wise counsel or lend a helping hand, stepped up to the challenge and is using mobiles to provide end-to-end care through awareness, testing, and ensuring treatment compliance.

Monopolizing on the 90% of South Africans who own mobile phones, the iTEACH team -- with collaborators from Pop!Tech, The Praekelt Foundation, and Frog Design -- brought HIV awareness to the masses and improved treatment compliance through the use of text messaging. Social stigma towards those carrying the disease results in low rates of HIV testing, and an overburdened public health system discourages people from utilizing available services at local clinics.

Basic Information
Website URL: 
http://www.iteachsouthafrica.o...
Organization involved in the project?: 
iTeach South Africa
Project goals: 

iTEACH identified four links in a chain of care essential for HIV and TB treatment success: [1] Effective awareness, [2] Scale-up of early HIV testing, [3] Early anti-retro viral treatment (ART) initiation, and [4] Support for ART and TB treatment adherence. In October 2007, Project ‘Masiluleke’ (Zulu for ‘to give wise counsel’ or ‘lend a helping hand’) or ‘Project M’, was launched to address these challenges with a chain of interventions designed for replication and scale. Project M is a collaborative effort, lead by the iTEACH NGO, along with a diverse set of partners (The Praekelt Foundation, Frog Design, Pop!Tech, MTN and Vodacom, LifeLine Southern Africa, Ghetto Ruff Records and the National Geographic Society).

Brief description of the project: 

Briefly, each of the three components of Project M addressed a specific barrier for people seeking care and for health care workers managing care.

1. TxtAlert: Reminders for HIV clinic appointments were sent to patients’ mobile phones as text messages. Showing up to your HIV clinic appointment largely correlates with anti-retro viral treatment (ART) adherence. In June 2007, TxtAlert, an SMS-based automated ART clinic appointment reminder system was piloted in partnership with Right to Care at the Themba Lethu Clinic, the largest privately funded ART treatment site in South Africa. TxtAlert is a web service that is linked to the electronic medical record system.

Clinic appointment reminders are sent to patients who are receiving ARVs, both two weeks and one day before their scheduled appointments. Text messages are also sent one day after the appointment to either thank the patient for coming or to alert them of a missed appointment and encourage rescheduling.

2. SocialTxt: A mass mobile messaging campaign was launched to raise HIV awareness, and directed people to the National AIDS Helpline. In October 2007, a mass text message HIV awareness campaign was launched with the so-called SocialTxt technology developed by the Praekelt Foundation.

One million text messages were sent everyday to mobile phone users throughout South Africa that contained key information about HIV and TB and directed mobile phone users to a free National AIDS Helpline.

The campaign resulted in an impressive 300% increase in calls to the helpline, from 1000 calls a day to 3000-4000 calls a day. Since the project launch, over 685 million PCM messages were sent to the helpline. Upon receiving the PCM message, staff at the helpline, who are HIV patients themselves, offer counseling and direct callers to HIV and TB testing centers.

3. HIV Self-Test Kit: Currently in development is a home-based HIV test kit that has the option of calling the National AIDS Hotline for guidance and assistance. The hope is that this kit will enable South Africans to perform an HIV test, in the privacy of their own homes, with the option of calling a counselor at the National AIDS Helpline via cell phone.

Target audience: 

Project M is being piloted in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), which is the South African province with the highest HIV burden and poorest TB treatment outcomes. The project will be managed from Edendale Hospital, which is located in one of the hardest hit districts in KZN (Umgungundlovu) where 60% of pregnant women test HIV+ and 200 new cases of TB are registered every month. Edendale serves an exclusively Zulu population of 1 million persons, where unemployment is estimated at 60% and most are living in abject poverty.

Edendale was selected specifically because it is replete with challenges faced by large government hospitals at the epicenter of the HIV and TB crisis. Success in this setting would suggest that replication and scale-up in similar underserved communities is feasible.

Detailed Information
Mobile Tools Used: 
TxtAlert
Length of Project (in months) : 
3
Status: 
Ongoing
What worked well? : 

1. TxtAlert: HIV/AIDS Clinic Apppointment Reminders

  • 80-90% opt-in rate was observed at the clinics.
  • Patients started to rely on TxtAlert reminders so much so they were less likely to switch their mobile phone number.
  • Patients started to interact with TxtAlert system via "Please Call Me" messages to reschedule their appointments in advance.
  • Patients currently on ARVs at the pilot site assisted in encouraging patients to opt-in for the SMS alerts.

2. SocialTxt: Mass mobile campaign to raise HIV awareness and direct people to the National AIDS Helpline

  • iTEACH offered relevant clinical and cultural expertise for the content of the SocialTxt SMS messages.
  • The project increased the number of calls by 300% to the National AIDS Helpline.
  • It leveraged the massive uptake of "Please Call Me" messages in South Africa for a large public health messaging campaign at no cost to people.

3. HIV Self-Test Kit, with option of calling via mobile phone to the Helpline

  • Focus group discussions revealed people prefer telephone interactions to seek counseling and HIV testing support, as opposed to in-person consultations.
  • Mobile phones address the issue of perceived stigmatization at clinics, which deters people from getting tested.

 

What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

1. TxtAlert: HIV/AIDS Clinic Apppointment Reminders

  • The process of collecting and registering numbers of patients was tedious, though outcomes show it was well worth it. This process took about 3 months.
  • There is a need to confirm at each appointment that the patient's number is the same as that listed on their system. Many people switch between 2-3 SIM cards.

2. SocialTxt: Mass mobile campaign to raise HIV awareness and direct people to the National AIDS Helpline

  • There are challenges in securing mobile operator support, though this changed once a profitable business case was demonstrated.
  • Counselers at the helpline need more training to deal with the increased volume in calls and to ensure the quality of service is not compromised.
  • The service needs to have increased coverage during evenings and weekend.
  • Counselers need better knowledge of local resources to make effective referrals.
  • A toll-free line is needed so mobile phone users can call without charge. The Helpline is toll-free only if calls are made via landlines.

 



 




  
Praekelt Foundation: Young Africa Live, SocialTXT, and TXTalert


Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Apr 29, 2010





 

        
      
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Praekelt Foundation: Young Africa Live, SocialTXT, and TXTalert data sheet 8139 Views

	
The Praekelt Foundation was founded in 2007 as the nonprofit/NGO offshoot of Praekelt Consulting.  The NGO now runs three programs that work to better the lives of people living in poverty in South Africa. Each of those programs (Young Africa Live, SocialTXT, and TXTalert) use mobiles to achieve that goal.
Basic Information

      
Website URL: 

    

            

                    http://www.praekeltfoundation....        

        





      
Organization involved in the project?: 

    

            

                    Praekelt Foundation        

        





      
Project goals: 

    

            

                    
Young Africa Life: The goal is to engage young Africans with a mobile-based community where they can find access to information about HIV/AIDS, relationships, sex, and gender.


SocialTXT: The goal is to engage people living in poverty about social issues by maximizing unused space on "Please Call Me" messages. 


TXTalert: The goal is to use SMS reminders to increase kept appointment rates at clinics, encourage regular medication for chronic illnesses, and allow patients a free way to contact clinics if they have a problem.

        

        





      
Brief description of the project: 

    

            

                    
Young Africa Live is a mobile portal where users can access information about HIV/AIDS while also reading entertainment-orientated blog posts.


SocialTXT takes advantage of the unused space in "Please Call Me Messages" to post informative social messages, such as the contact number for the National AIDS Helpline.


TXTalert uses SMS reminders to encourage patients with chronic illnesses to take their medication and follow-up with their clinic appointments. 

        

        





      
Target audience: 

    

            

                    
The target audience for all three programs are people living in poverty in South Africa. Young people are a particular target audience of Praekelt's programs.

        

        






Detailed Information

      
Mobile Tools Used: 

    

            

                    SocialTxt        

              

                    TxtAlert        

        





      
Length of Project (in months) : 

    

            

                    30        

        





      
Status: 

    

            

                    Ongoing        

        





      
What worked well? : 

    

            

                    
Young Africa Live: The site had rapid pickup among users, and exceeded the expected number of users. The Praekelt Foundation was able to get many resources from NGOs to populate the site with static content, and the bloggers have been well-received by readers.


SocialTXT: The program had a large effect on the number of users calling the National AIDS Helpline, and they were able to incorporate in regional languages in order to make the project more inclusive.


TXTalert: The appointment reminders dropped missed appointment rates at a Johannesburg hospital from 30% to 4%. 

        

        





      
What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

    

            

                    
Young Africa Live: The portal is only accessible to users who use Vodacom as a service provider. Thus not all mobile users in South Africa can access the information. Also, the site's rapid popularity created a need for more content.


TXTalert: The system currently only runs in Johannesburg because it is dependent on clinics and hospitals having electronic patient databases, which many rural clinics do not have.
        

        












 




  
World Aids Day and the Role of Mobile Phones in Combatting HIV/AIDS: Project M


Posted by KatrinVerclas on Dec 01, 2008


Today is World Aids Day, a day where individuals and organisations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 
Mobile phones are increasinly playing a key role in combatting HIV/AIDS, providing public education and information services, patient monitoring and support, data collection, emergency medical services, and even educational games.  
We have written much on this topic, of immense importance to the world where there are now more than 33 million people living with the disease, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.  Throughout the day, we'll feature a few projects that use or have used mobile technology in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment that stand out. 

    

            

                            

        







 

        
      
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