Submitted by Sara Gunn on Thursday, 27th May, 2010 — News item
A quasi-instantaneous data collection system allows for more rapid response and more immediate distribution of food and other aid. The availability of timely and accurate information dramatically increases UNICEF’s ability to identify and resolve problems as they arise and translates into a more efficient and rational allocation of resources. RapidSMS is more than just a data collection tool, however. Erica Kochi, a communications specialist on the UNICEF Innovation team, says it’s a “two-way system.” RapidSMS allows for an end user (most likely a field monitor) to report data. But there is also a “pull aspect,” Kochi explains, so a field worker can quickly access important information from a central, web-hosted database.
UNICEF first deployed RapidSMS in Nigeria in mid-2009 to track and collect data from the Immunization Plus days, a polio eradication initiative of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency. In order for RapidSMS to be used in the first phase of the bednet distribution program, new features had to be created, says Akinbo, UNICEF’s local software developer. Because it was designed with flexibility and scalability in mind, RapidSMS is relatively easy to customize for specific projects with technical expertise.
Scaling Up in Nigeria
As we previously described, RapidSMS was piloted during the first phase of the campaign to distribute 63 million insecticide-treated nets in Kano and Anambra states in 2009. The aim was to compile data on the flow of the nets from state stores to local distribution points, and to position supplies based on the information reported in real time by field monitors via RapidSMS. RapidSMS was also deployed to monitor bednet distributions in Sokoto and Kebbi states, and plans call for it to be used throughout the rest of the country by the end of 2010.
According to this case study
“Over the course of 14 days, RapidSMS captured data for the distribution of 141,773 coupons, or 283,546 ITNs in total. During this time, 232 stock transfers were tracked, spread out over 226 unique locations. NMCP calculated that RapidSMS directly monitored distributions that met 69 percent of the projected demand in Kano State, or 652,919 beneficiaries. This targeted real-time data allowed NMCP to later follow up on vulnerable pockets, delayed shipments and other irregularities.”
Akinbo notes that about 500 local health workers and government employees were trained to use RapidSMS on their mobile phones to send and receive information to assist them in their work. An advantage of RapidSMS is that it’s designed to be used with even the most basic mobile phones. Considering that there are more than 80 million cell phone users in Nigeria according to Wireless Intelligence most recent data from Q4 2009, this represents a fantastic opportunity for UNICEF to use RapidSMS at scale.
UNICEF Nigeria is planning to use RapidSMS on a variety of projects beyond bednet distribution, such as the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition initiative and a maternal, newborn and child mortality reduction program. For field teams in Nigeria, the rapid scale-up of RapidSMS is translating into real program management and coordination benefits, generating and delivering critical data for decision-making that field workers and program managers can leverage on a daily basis.
In Nigeria, the field implementation team there modified the software to inccrease usablity and lower data errors:
• Developers in Nigeria are working to ensure that as little misreporting of data occurs with RapidSMS, as well as on improving the usability of the technology. With each monitor responsible for collecting hundreds of bits of information and data and reporting them in real time, human errors inevitably occur in reporting at the end-user level. The goal of local software developers is to simplify the functionalities for each specific role.
• A mobilization team leader tracking the issuance of coupons will have access to specific reporting and query forms, while warehouse stock managers or distribution point team leaders each have their own suite of tools available. This micro-customization allows for a greater degree of data reliability by decreasing the number of variables monitors have to contend with.
The Nigerian RapidSMS development team also teamed up with the private sector to address cost issues. Field monitors, who rely on their personal phones for reporting, often had to use their own airtime for the purpose. This was particularly problematic considering that reporting often occurs on a nationwide scale. To decrease this cost, two of the mobile carriers, MTN and Zain – which together control more than half of the Nigerian mobile market, with roughly 50 million connections -- are now providing toll-free numbers for RapidSMS field users.
The Role of Tech in Development - Good Ideas and Good People First
The deployment of RapidSMS in Nigeria coincides with a broad push for greater inclusion of technology in Nigeria’s development agenda. Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s newly minted president, officially launched the Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) plan at the opening of the e-Nigeria 2010 summit. The Nigerian president said the technology “is a major tool for driving the Vision 2020,’ and urged all government ministries and agencies to begin implementing the ICT4D agenda.
Amid this backdrop, RapidSMS is positioning itself as a relevant, useful and innovative tool that has the potential to benefit a variety of development projects across Nigeria. Commenting on the current trend of leveraging technology for development purposes, Owen Barder, a British development economist who has worked in both IT and development, says “asking about leveraging technology for development is like asking about using telephones for management. The technology is irrelevant; what matters is whether the development ideas are any good.”
While RapidSMS is a valuable tool that can provide time and costs-savings in data collection, logistics coordination and communication, it isn’t a silver bullet. Challenges remain when it comes to how to translate data availability into concrete actions. RapidSMS helps to relieve some of the constraints of information-based decision-making, but it can’t solve all inefficiencies. Erica Kochi notes that the mobile-for-development sphere is still relatively restrained. Most projects that leverage mobile technology are still on a small scale and have yet to attract significant investments. “Technology is only the smallest part of the project,” Kochi says, echoing Barder’s sentiment. “You still have to coordinate all the different moving parts, and deal with the inherent complexity of multi-stakeholder initiatives. That is the toughest aspect.”
RapidSMS is proving to be useful, though, by helping to eliminate some key inefficiencies associated with implementing large-scale, complex and data-rich programs in remote locations. As demonstrated in the case of insecticide-treated bednet distribution in Nigeria, RapidSMS’ flexibility and openness make it a versatile tool which organizations can customize depending on the specific needs and context. By enabling fast and informed decision-making, RapidSMS is meant to, first and foremost, “support the workers on the frontlines,” Kochi says. Whether it’s food aid delivery logisticians in a remote village in Ethiopia getting access to critical information concerning food availability, or community health workers in Zambia and Malawi having HIV/AIDS test and diagnosis results at their fingertips, RapidSMS is ensuring frontline workers no longer have to make their decisions in the dark.
Post Date 05.25.10 Author | PenelopeChester
Penelope Chester is a contributing writer to MobileActive.org.
