Ladyblabla: Update Your Phone, Save Lives

Love this initiative from the folks at Mint Digital (such an awesome group, check them out if you haven't already). 

Ladyblabla is a smartphone comparison site created for a charity called mothers2mothers- an organization that trains local, HIV positive mothers, to be mentors for new mothers. The mentor moms use smartphones to help moms-to-be reduce the risk of HIV transmission to their babies by monitoring their clinic appointments, keeping up with their medications, accessing medical records and monitoring test results.  (read more on how it works here)

Every smartphone sold on Ladyblabla, pays for a mothers2mothers smartphone contract for a month.  I love this; shop for the best deals on smartphones and save lives while you're at it. I also love how empowering the mothers2mothers model is. So amazing and inspiring. 

Bravo Mint & m2m!

World AIDS Day 2011

Today is World Aids Day. In 1987 the Names Project Foundation started the initiative to create a quilt to remember loved ones who had fallen victim to AIDS, heighten awareness about the (then) new illness and inspire action in people. The quilt weighed 54 tons and was composed of more than 47,000 panels dedicated to more than 90,000 individuals around the world. Today that quilt is a representation of how far we have come in this fight. But its not over. The digital quilt initiative, put into action with the help of the ad agency I work for, is a reminder that there is so much more work to be done, but that there are always little ways that you as an individual can become part of a global movement. Show your love and support and become a part of something big today. Show compassion, remember with love, and do not judge. ♥

Below is an image of the piece of the quilt I made this morning. Make your own at http://www.2015quilt.com/

The original AIDS memorial quilt in Washington DC in 1987.

UNAIDS: A Year in Review

Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS.  Click here for full report.

In case you don't have time to read the 364 pages of the UNAIDS 2010 Global Report, check out the article posted on their blog today; "UNAIDS- A year in review".  Some of my highlights from the highlight:

The Good:

• The rate of new HIV infections has been reduced by nearly 20% in the past 10 years

• AIDS related deaths have been reduced by nearly 20% in the last five years 

• Globally, the total number of people living with HIV has stabilized.

The Bad:

• 2010 was the first year resources for the AIDS response did not increase, with donor disbursements lower in 2009 than in 2008.

• Demand for antiretroviral treatment still heavily outweighs the supply and availability of the drugs

The Noteworthy:

• 2010 has been marked with several major scientific developments, including the CAPRISA study, the IPREX study and the "Berlin Patient" case (see video). 

• The UNAIDS board adopted the "UNAIDS strategy 2011–2015" with the intent to revolutionize HIV prevention, catalyse the next phase of treatment, care and support, and advance human rights and gender equality.

See the detailed timeline, for the UNAIDS Year in Review.

The Power of Soccer

As promised, I’ve taken a break from watching the exciting World Cup matches to see what’s going on in the world of social marketing. There are a lot of interesting campaigns being launched, as well as some controversial protests that have been getting a significant amount of press attention. For now, however, I’ll focus on some of the positive events that have been taking place.

Grassroots Soccer is an organization established by former professional football players, that provides HIV information and education techniques to African soccer stars, coaches teachers and role models around the continent. The program provides these community leaders with the curriculums and skills necessary to pass along the information to youth. The organization has been a huge success and has received global recognition for its efforts against the HIV epidemic.

For the 2010 World Cup GRS has teamed up with Castrol to roll out the Castrol Skillz Holiday Programme that 4,500 children across South Africa will participate in. The initiative is a four week long holiday camp that provides HIV education, life skills and of course, intensive soccer training. It is particularly interesting to see how the program uses analogies and correlations between HIV transmission and the game of football to help educate the children about the disease and how to make decisions in life regarding their own protection and health.

For more information about this amazing organization, as well as the Castrol Skillz Holiday Program, check out www.grassrootsoccer.org/

Now back to the games!

The Cup, Condoms and Conversations

Being an avid football fan (or soccer as some prefer), my mind has recently been filled with thoughts of the upcoming World Cup taking place in beautiful South Africa this summer. The tournament, which is set to kick off on June 11^th, will draw thousands of visitors from around the world, spurring what the government hopes will be an evident economic boost. South Africa currently has about 4 million people unemployed, and hosting the games (which has cost the country about $4.6 billion in preparation) should lower that number significantly. Unfortunately, a high unemployment rate is not the only disturbing statistic. With an adult infection rate of about 18%, the nation is home to the greatest number of people living with HIV. The epidemic is fueled by unprotected sex, rampant prostitution and mother to child transmissions, all factors that President Zuma and the government seem to be concerned with fighting. Although HIV rates have stabilized in the last few years South Africa still has a long way to go in the battle against the disease.

So what does the World Cup have to do with the epidemic? Health care experts are concerned that the influx of tourists (a predicted 450,000 people) as well as prostitutes (an estimated 40,000) into the nation could cause a spike in HIV transmission. The South African government has responded to this concern by requesting one billion condoms from donor nations. Already the UK has donated and shipped 42 million condoms.In addition to the call for condoms, FIFA and its local organizing committee have urged HIV/AIDS organizations to push awareness messages before and during games.

With millions of people attending and billions of people around the world tuning in to watch the games, the World Cup lends itself as the perfect platform to raise awareness for South Africa’s severe HIV/AIDS crisis. There are several efforts and interesting programs that I would urge you to take a look at including Football for Hope and Football for an HIV-free Generation.

It will be interesting to see how organizations leverage the high viewership during the World Cup. Updates to come post World Cup.

The Danger of a Single Story

A professor from school recently sent me a TED talk from Chimamanda Adichie, and I felt compelled to share it. It is interesting (and scary) to think about the dangers of viewing people, nations and cultures from one stereotypical viewpoint. Adichie talks about an experience she had when she first moved to the US and her roommate was surprised to find that she spoke English, listened to American music and knew how to use kitchen appliances. I too am not a stranger to such encounters, having gotten asked several times why “If you are from Africa, why do you talk so ‘white’?” Granted, such viewpoints sometimes come from a place of pure ignorance, however, many westerners are simply not exposed to enough differing stories about Africa, or about the issues that the continent tackles. Why is this? In a time where about 75% of the US population has access to the internet, a source of abundant public data and resources, I would hate to put all the blame on main stream media and television, although it seems hard not to. Television does seem like an easy way to get accurate news from around the world, however, it is usually just one storyline, told from one perspective. It is important to conduct more of your own research and formulate your own opinions, thereby empowering you to create your own stories.

The reason I wanted to post this was because I have grown increasingly concerned with the way people who are suffering from HIV/AIDS are portrayed in the media. A simple Google Image Search for “people with aids” explains my point further. The typical stereotype for an HIV/AIDS victim is a poor, emaciated, African; someone that we would never meet or be able to relate to. Although it is extremely important to educate people on the dangers of unprotected sex and HIV/AIDS, it is just as important to tell the story of people with HIV/AIDS as human beings. These are people with lives, families and jobs; they are people that we sit next to on the bus, go to the gym with and buy our groceries from. This is a story that has not been told enough and I encourage everyone to take another look at it. Do not be scared to listen to several stories and opinions, and eventually, formulate your own opinions and tell your own stories.

UPDATE: The disturbing "Virgin Myth"

My last blog post talked about some of the reasons that
the HIV and AIDS rates in Africa surpass those of other continents by alarming amounts. One of the points I discussed was the fact that Africa is faced with the challenge of overcoming several myths and beliefs concerning HIV/AIDS. A recent article on CNN.com concerned itself with a particularly abominable and shocking myth; namely, the idea that by having sex with a young virgin, one will be cured of the disease. Betty Makoni, a rape survivor, told CNN of her personal struggle, and what she has done to help fellow victims, and prevent other girls from going through what she did. I urge you all to take a look at the article, as well as Makoni’s Girl Child Network program. Betty Makoni (above)

Why HIV/AIDS is more prevalent in Africa

A friend of mine recently asked me why HIV/AIDS is so much more prevalent in Africa than anywhere else in the world. Seeing that this topic is something I am somewhat knowledgeable about, I thought the question would be relatively easy to answer. However, after several minutes of roundabout answers and ‘maybes’ and ‘I thinks’, I realized that I really did not have a concrete response to her question. There are, however, several factors that account for Africa’s high infection rate, so I decided to summarize a few of them briefly.

The first, and most common reason, is the high rate of poverty and economic disparity. Sub-Saharan Africa is currently home to over ¾ of the world’s ‘ultra poor’ people (just over 121 million individuals), and is seeing very little progress in terms of reducing the proportion of those suffering from severe destitute circumstances. Although HIV/AIDS affects both the poor and rich, it is a known reality that those affected by poverty, are more readily affected by the epidemic. There are several reasons for this, the first and most significant, being that poverty offers fewer defenses against the disease. By defenses, I am referring to medical defenses, educational defenses and financial defenses. As the lack of these defenses increases, the HIV/AIDS infection increases, in turn forcing more of the population towards poverty. The result is a perpetuating cycle of the epidemic leading to poverty, and vice versa.

This leads me to another bi-causal relationship; the one between education and HIV. I will not spend too much time on this one, because the correlation between a lack of education and an increased HIV/AIDS rate, is an obvious one. The epidemic, unfortunately, has a crippling effect on Africa’s infrastructure, particularly the education system. Education plays a vital role on both HIV/AIDS awareness as well as support for those affected by the illness. As th
e endemic worsens, a toll is taken on education systems as they lose teachers, faculty, staff and students. In terms of general HIV awareness and education, there has been a significant effort to spread the knowledge of the illness throughout the continent, however, due to a lack of infrastructure, funding and poor communication paths, there are still countless communities and individuals who do not fully understand the illness, how it is spread, prevention methods and treatment.
Also concerning education and awareness, Africa also struggles with the added challenge of overcoming traditional and cultural beliefs regarding HIV/AIDS (as I explore this cause, keep in mind that this is something that affects primarily rural parts of the continent, much more than urban and developed communities). Traditional beliefs have long impeded not only the process of eradicating the epidemic, but also the process of enlightening educationally unwilling parties. There have been several psychological studies and surveys that have recently explored the relationship between people’s cultural views and prevention efforts. One study published by the University of Connecticut and the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa, was particularly informative. It found that about 34% of residents in Cape Town, South Africa (a country with the most HIV/AIDS deaths in the world), either firmly believed, or believed there was a possibility, that the disease is caused by spirits or some form of supernatural forces.

These misunderstandings are not only about the causes of HIV/AIDS. Many communities and individuals are misinformed as to how the disease is spread, and are also plagued with falsities in regards to people living with HIV/AIDS; beliefs that are spurred by deep-seated traditional and cultural understandings. There are several stigmatizing beliefs concerning HIV/AIDS sufferers, for example, that such individuals are the victims of witchcraft, voodoo, curses etc., or that they are involved in culturally unacceptable homosexual activities. With such negative stigmas, people are deterred from getting themselves tested, fearing the stigmas that are attached to the disease, much more than the illness itself. In fact, 44% of surveyed individuals expressed that these stigmas influence their decisions to seek HIV antibody testing. This, of course, increases infection rates, as people who are unaware of their status, are engaging in unprotected sex and are unknowingly spreading the virus at disturbing rates. However, as widespread and popular as these traditional beliefs may be, I firmly believe that it is not a specific issue about traditional and cultural convictions, however, it is a general issue regarding the misinformation of HIV/AIDS and its facts and details as a whole. It is an issue of broad-spectrum education and the spread of accurate HIV awareness throughout all levels of society and geographic localities.

These issues are certainly not all-encompassing, in terms of why Africa suffers from a far greater infection rate than any other continent, however they provide a basic explanation of some of the root causes. The high rate of prostitution, polygamy and promiscuity, sexual violence and rapid urbanization and mobilization also play a major role on high infection rates and the spread of the epidemic. I am well aware that each of these examples can be further broken down and dissected into hundreds of detailed, separate entities, however, I do not have the knowledge, expertise or time to do so. This is merely a basic exploration into a few possibilities and patterns. For more details, click on the hyperlinks throughout this blog entry for links to detailed studies and reports.

As always, feel free to comment or provide me with feedback, because TALK AIDS!

Cell Phones in Africa: A growing phenomenon with numerous possibilities

I recently saw a very interesting lecture (online) by Dr. Joel Selanikio, pediatrician and co-founder of Datadyne, a non-profit that works on improving the quality and quantity of public health data.  Although he focuses his efforts primarily on vaccination issues, this particular lecture concerned the growing opportunities regarding cell phones and computers in the developing world, particularly Africa.  Probably the most memorable and consequential statistics that Selanikio brought to light pertained to the remarkable growth rate of cell phone adoption in Africa and around the world.  In the year 2000, only 20% of the world’s population was in range of cell phone network.  Compare that to 80% of the world in 2008.  This increase is particularly noticeable in Africa. The reason that this is so remarkable is because the people who are buying these cell phones at alarming rates, are among the poorest people in the world.  The once widely accepted belief that cell-phones were only for top tier individuals in society, no longer holds true.  If people find something extremely useful, they will do whatever it takes to buy it.  There are several reasons that Africans are adopting cell-phones at a higher rate than any other continent.  Of course, there is the obvious fact that there is more room for growth, allowing for a higher adoption rate.  This room for growth combined with the fact that cell phones are cheaper than landlines, are not government monopolized and neither good credit nor a permanent address is needed in order to purchase one, allows for not only city dwellers to purchase cell phones, but more importantly, rural communities all over Africa.  As Selanikio points out in his lecture, this cell phone growth is in no way aided by UNAIDS efforts or a World Bank project, this is simply regular people buying cell phones through means of their own. 

So why does all this matter? This phenomenon, or revolution, should really concern anyone who is interested in public health, or the dissemination of any kind of information.  People in the western world, particularly marketers and public health practitioners, have often wondered, “What could we do if everyone in the world had a computer like ours?” What we should be wondering, however, is “What can we do with the computers that everyone already has?”  Cell phones are essentially little computers that 80% of the world now has at their fingertips.  Particularly noteworthy is the low price of communication that these computers allow for.  For a mere 20 cents per text message, someone in rural western Kenya can text someone in Washington DC, receiving a reply in a matter of seconds.  Furthermore, almost all of these cell-phones have the ability to do simple searches on the web, and although it will be a long time before everyone in developing countries will have access to rich internet (graphics, flash etc.), they already do have the ability to conduct simple searches and receive text based information.  In my opinion, I believe this technology allows for endless possibilities, particularly in the health industry.  Selanikio touched on a few interesting ideas. He recommended letting doctors and clinicians in rural Africa have access to reference materials for drugs via sms (short message service).  Doctors could access this database and find drug interactions, doses and descriptions easily and quickly and then share this information with their patients.  This is something that doctors in the west can easily access through the Internet a resource that many take for granted.  Other medical usages include managing patients records on sim cards (essentially a memory card).  This would allow for portable records in a world of limited paper work and filing. 

In terms of HIV/AIDS prevention, I believe that this revolution lends itself to several possibilities as well.  The growing cell phone phenomenon is as appealing to teenagers in Africa as it is in the United States.  Text messages and text based Internet searches can easily be conducted by teens, and the dissemination of information from Aids prevention organizations could promote Aids awareness and prevention methods to an engaged audience, via a technology that they are already infatuated with.  One possibility would be an organization that readily answers all questions about HIV/AIDS via text message.  Questions could be submitted anonymously and answers could be received quickly. 

I believe that the cell phone phenomenon, or as Selanikio calls it, the Invisible Computer Revolution, that Africa is currently experiencing is one that is underrated, but ripe with possibilities.  It is an untapped resource that could not only aid the public health sector, but marketers around the world.  Again, ask yourself, what we can do now that for the first time in history, humanity is experiencing the ability to communicate cheaply and efficiently with everyone else in the world.