Leveraging Insights to Scale SRH Digital Platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa Ambika Samarthya, Head of Communications

Founded in South Africa in 2007, we create, design, and implement open source mobile technologies to improve the wellbeing of people in low and middle income countries.

Introducing Praekelt.org

Early innovations in SRH content on mobile

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Rapid scale-up and expansion

Soon, YoungAfricaLive reached 1.85 million youth across South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania.

What made YoungAfricaLive successful?

Engaging content

Create an engaging place to talk about LSR: edutainment content drove perception and behavior change in a voice that youth related to.

2 User-first positioning

Focus on broader issues around HIV - love, sex, and relationships (LSR).

1 Partnership with MNO

Offer service on a zero-rated system so youths without data plans can access its essential information.

3

What made YoungAfricaLive successful?

Reaching guys and girls

Many SRH programs aim to reach girls. Without engaging boys, we’re only addressing a fraction of the problem.

5 First-person stories

Leverage stories by real users, creating a safe space for youth to engage with each other and discuss sensitive topics.

4

TuneMe is a sexual and reproductive health mobile-optimized website aimed at improving the lives of youths in sub-Saharan Africa by empowering them to make informed decisions around their bodies.

Our objectives

With the support of UNFPA and Ford Foundation, TuneMe is live in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and will be expanding to an additional 3 countries by the end of 2016.

Our progress

Tune Me

Putting the user first This is NOT just for the user proactively looking for answers: we want to prevent something happening before it’s a problem.

Tune Me

User-generated content

Incentivize youth through airtime packages Distill copy and pair with fact-based articles Learn from the data: feedback loop

Working in a continuum

Challenges

Social reality Tech innovation

Working in a continuum

Sexual health sensitivities Organizations with invested interests in government VS local youth-focused groups on the ground

Working in a continuum

Cultural changes Society is evolving – there are now many shades of grey. Hard and fast doesn’t change status quo.

Working in a continuum

Media consumption Higher Facebook penetration rates due to easier access on feature phones. Optimize all mediums!

Tap into mobile to reach youth

Work within continuums

Live where your community lives

Take-aways

Rena Greifinger Technical Advisor, Youth & Girls, PSI

October 20, 2016

Changing the World with an Adolescent Mindset

PSI’s FP2020 Pledge: Through our global network of 65 country programs, reach 10 million people under 25 with modern contraceptive methods by December 2020.

Increase access to and uptake of voluntary modern contraception

among adolescent girls (15-19 years old) in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and

Nigeria.

Close 50-80% of the contraceptive need gap by reaching 325,000 girls.

What We Typically Do Researchers

conduct research on target group

Researchers analyze data

Programmers

design activities

Researchers pretest

materials

Programmers implement

activities with target

What Makes A360 Different? Design teams made up of researchers,

programmers, consultants, and

young people conduct research

Design teams make

meaning of data together and generate

insights and opportunities for

intervention

Design teams

co-create prototypes

Design teams test and refine

prototypes again and again

Program teams refine and implement successful

prototypes at scale

An Interdisciplinary Approach

Social Marketing

Public Health

Human-Centered Design

Developmental Neuroscience

Socio-cultural

Anthropology

A360

Scale, segmentation, market analysis, behavioral analysis, commercial viability, business cases, supply-chain issues, PBCC

Scientific approach and evidence-based, technical imperatives, ethical considerations

Mining for insight, empathetic design focused on user’s experience, creating, prototyping, innovative thinking, improving execution, desirability

Understanding and application of what we know about the adolescent brain and how that affects adolescent behavior

Deep insights into “why”, seeing patters that are unconscious, remaining culturally appropriate, being gender transformative

Inception Inspiration Ideation Pilot Scale Bridging Activities

Inspiration Phase

“I think we young designers help to interpret the feelings of adolescents -

their language, cultural aspects and their identity. Our involvement helps the

project to be more clear -- on what the research means and to generate

solutions.

I learned about punctuality, politeness, and leaving the decision to the

interviewee about whether or not to continue with certain questions.

I am learning to be inspired. Generally, it

made me into an upgraded version of myself.”

Ideation Phase

The Evolution of a Prototype

Tuesday at 3:30PM

Wednesday at 2:30PM

Wednesday at 11:45PM

Thursday at 9:25AM

“We don’t grow up, we only grow old” – Maya Angelou

Thank you!