An ambitious project spearheaded by Pop!Tech is set to connect millions of South Africans via their cellphones with information on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
Project Masiluleke was unveiled last week by the social innovation network during its annual ideas summit.
Some of the project's key contributors include MTN, Nokia Siemens Networks, global design and innovation firm Frog Design, South African pro-social mobile messaging group the Praekelt Foundation, and HIV and TB outreach organisation iTeach.
A Pop!Tech statement says SA has a cellular penetration of up to 90% of the population. In the coming year, the project hopes to reach millions in SA using various cellphone-based initiatives. The statement adds the project will connect citizens nationwide to critical health-related information, as well as lifesaving HIV and TB resources.
AIDS info on the go
The first stage of the project, 'Please Call Me' x 1 million x 365' has already come out of three weeks of beta testing. The first stage will see more than a million HIV/AIDS and TB messages being sent to the general public each day for one year.
The technology for this phase was designed by the Praekelt Foundation, the content was developed by iTeach, with design insights from Frog Design, and the network capacity was donated by MTN. The messages will connect mobile users to existing HIV and TB call centres.
The Praekelt Foundation's TxtAlert technology will be utilised to inform people living with AIDS of their scheduled clinic visits, ensuring they adhere to ARV regimens. Plans are also under way to implement virtual call centres, where existing help-lines will be augmented by teams of trained HIV-positive patients. These individuals will field questions remotely, via their mobile devices, from the general public.
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