TACTIC 9: CASE STUDY
TECHNOLOGY THAT LISTENS
let people ask the questions
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Case Study
| TITLE: WHO: WHERE: WEBSITE: |
MyQuestion, MyAnswer OneWorld UK/Education as a Vaccine Against AIDS Nigeria Oneworld Mobile |
DESCRIPTION
Young people in Nigeria face obstacles in getting accurate sexual and reproductive health information, due to stigma and taboos. A collaboration between OneWorld UK and local NGO, Education as a Vaccine Against AIDS, produced 'MyQuestion/MyAnswer,' a mobile phone campaign that lets young people take control over their own sexual health education anonymously and securely. 'MyQuestion/MyAnswer' relies on its audience's familiarity with mobile phones and the sense that the information they get on their mobiles is private and will not be judged by adults. Questions may be sent in via text message and responses can include health facts, links to local clinics, or a chance to speak directly by phone to a counsellor. The questions are later aggregated into a frequently-asked questions database. "Getting someone to talk to them straight – that was the most important thing," says project manager Uju Ofomata. "Then getting people to use the service wasn’t a problem." Nearly 60,000 questions have been sent to the service in its first two years.
| TOOLS USED: | mobile platform customised from open source software (Apache web server, PHP application, MySql database), website, mobile phones. |
| REACH: | National, with a concentration of users in urban and suburban settings and a majority in southern Nigeria. |
| RESOURCES: | Local partners, press campaign. By partnering with a local NGO with extensive experience working locally with young people, the campaign was regarded as trusted and reliable. A major press campaign, in print news, radio, and television media spread information about the service to young people. |
| TIME: | Five months to build and launch the mobile platform. The negotiations with the telecom companies took at least three months. Project ongoing. |
LEVEL Of DIFFICULTY: 4 out of 5
COST: USD$30,000 for telecom costs, USD$10,000 for publicity, USD$60,000 for salary and project management.
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