SMS tackle HIV in South Africa

by Sanjay Jha | October 28, 2008 at 12:12 am

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Growth in the Mobile phone subscription is astonishing. The growth is particularly led by emerging economies like China and India. People are opting for the top-end phones with high processing power and storage available in desktop computers just few years back.

Mobile phones are being used more than just for conversation. They have already started functioning as more than just communications devices. Companies in India are working to evolve mobile as banking instrument. Government in South Africa is tapping the popularity of mobile phones to combat growing menace of HIV and AIDS.

Project Masiluleke will send one million free text messages a day to push people to be tested and treated.

Approximately 350,000 people die of Aids-related diseases in the country every year.

Trials of the system showed that calls to counsellors at the National Aids helpline in Johannesburg increased by 200% when messages were broadcast.

"I think this is the largest ever use of mobile phones for health information," said Gustav Praekelt, one of the project's originators.

Test case

The United Nations estimates that there are currently six million people living with HIV in South Africa.

"South Africa is the epicentre of the global HIV epidemic," said Zinny Thabethe, an HIV activist who is part of the project.

"You would think that in a country where it is so obvious that we are challenged by HIV that there would be enough knowledge to help people access care or change behaviour."

However, she said, misinformation and stigma remained rife in many communities and testing levels remained low.

"HIV testing is widely available ...but only 5% have managed to test for HIV," she said. "Most people only get a test when they are about to die."

Project Masiluleke was set up to try to counter this and encourage people to seek testing and treatment.

The initiative plans to broadcast millions of health messages every month to mobile phones across South Africa.

It is estimated that there are currently 43m handsets in a country of 49m people. Almost 95% of the phones are prepaid.

"There is near universal coverage," said Mr Praekelt. "And in the absence of other services, the mobile phone has become the central component for people to get access to information."