Blogs

Mobile Chat Service for HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Anyone worried about HIV or AIDS in South Africa can now chat directly with a trained counselor using a mobile phone. The service not only uses a form of communication already popular with young people, it is affordable and very private.

SMS Eliminates a Deadly Delay in HIV Testing in Zambia

Zambia is hoping to slash its infant mortality rate by helping HIV-positive children get treatment fast. Thanks to SMS-text messaging, parents will know the HIV status of their children sooner and can begin life-saving treatment.

Texting Students About HIV Prevention

A new HIV/AIDS education project meets university students where they are: on the phone, on Facebook and on the soccer field.

New Mobile Tools for Family Planning in Kenya

A pilot project in Nairobi focuses on increasing awareness about family planning options. Using their mobile phone, Kenyans can now get information about contraception and other reproductive issues.

Zambia Uses ZAIN SMS to Fight Measles

The Ministry of Health worked with the telecommunications company to send messages to parents reminding them to vaccinate their children.

SMS Project in Uganda Shows Malaria Knowledge Exists, Action Lacking

A recent SMS quiz showed that most people know how to prevent malaria--notably, 98 percent of the respondents seemed to be aware that insecticide-treated mosquito nets are the best way to prevent malaria.

Text Messages To Boost India's Immunization

India’s densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh is enlisting technology in an effort to boost its vaccination coverage as part of a polio eradication and immunization program. Currently, 32 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population is vaccinated. The World Health Organization has set a global goal for every district within a country to achieve an 80 percent rate of vaccination coverage. 

New Mobile Platform Helps Refugees United Reach Thousands

Refugees United helps people displaced by war, disaster or political repression track down their loved ones. Operating mostly in Africa, the relatively young NGO recently announced a platform using mobile phone technology to connect refugees. Dinfin Mulupi interviewed Refugees United’s co-founder and Managing Director Christopher Mikkelsen.

Citizen Journalism Only a Phone Call Away In Tribal India

 A news service in central India uses mobile phones to overcome barriers like illiteracy and lack of internet access. Reporters file their stories and users listen to them on the phone. CGNet Swara trains people from the tribal populations to become citizen journalists and create a credible and accessible news service.

From Pilot to Franchise: Esoko Arms Farmers with Information

Farmers throughout Africa are using mobile technology to get access to current market information for their crops. Esoko, a Ghanaian software company, is moving from a nonprofit model to a business model to increase the use of its agricultural software. Dinfin Mulupi reports.

ICTs, Including Mobile Help Africans Cope with Climate Change

Evidence is increasing that information and communication technologies can be applied to help people adapt to the impacts of climate change. The world’s most vulnerable populations are also feeling the greatest effects of global warming. Newton Sibanda reports on how ICTs may help mitigate the damage in Zambia and beyond.

Una Voz: New Mobile Device for Low Wage Workers

Domestic workers and day laborers in Los Angeles are using the tools of journalists to broadcast reports on issues that affect them. The project Mobile Voices/VozMob has created an open-source platform where workers-turned-bloggers publish reports by mobile phone.

Ushahidi: Born in Kenya, Traveling the World

The Nairobi-based Ushahidi has played a role in almost every major disaster to hit the globe this year. With a commitment to free and open source software, the developers hope to constantly improve the crowdsourcing platform and use it wherever it is needed. Here, Dinfin Mulupi talks to one of the founders.

SMS Texts a New Tool in Guinea’s Historic Election

Mobile phones turned citizens into election observers in Guinea’s landmark presidential election. The technology will also be used to help voters in the upcoming September run-off poll.

 Zambia: To Market, To Market By Mobile Phone

Zambia’s farmers are using mobile phones to change the way they do business.

Elections, Mobile Phones and the Traditional Media

Just because a diverse group of people now have access to mobile phones does not mean they will all use them in the same ways. Using advanced mobile applications to get information to or from “the grassroots” or to improve transparency may not actually expand the range of input as far as many believe -- at least for the time being. So while developing new applications is important, so are efforts to make them appealing and accessible to more diverse phone users

Kenya: Shop Owner Benefits from New Mobile Savings Product M-Kesho

Jane Natoo, a shop owner in this village in Rift Valley Province, used to have to carry thousands of shillings in cash when she went to town to buy stock for her shop. It was an inconvenient and highly risky way to do business. Jane isn't toting big wads of cash anymore. She signed up for the recently launched M-Kesho service, a savings account spinoff of the hugely successful M-Pesa mobile money service operated by Safaricom Ltd.

The Role of Media in Humanitarian Crises: Potential Lessons from Haiti

 In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010, the media proved once again to be a crucial element in how humanitarian agencies respond to such crises. New and old forms of communication were utilized to communicate between responders and victims and to coordinate efforts between agencies and NGOs