Using SMS to Respond to Drought Crippled Ethiopia

UNICEF Ethiopia has developed a platform that uses mobile phone text messages (SMS) to monitor the distribution of high protein food to under nourished children in over 1,800 feeding centers in Ethiopia. The SMS reporting system is used to coordinate distribution, supplies and find out the number of fed children and the need for more supplies. The system is a great deal more efficient than the old method; 30 monitors traveling around the country sending weekly faxes to Addis Ababa. Obviously, the older method was error prone and would only gather reports from 20% of the distribution centers. Perhaps even more interesting, the new mobile system can be reconfigured to work any supply-chain, like drug supply, mosquito net distribution etc.

So how does it work? A GSM modem attached to a server receives the incoming SMS messages, replies with a confirmation message, and automatically saves the entry into a database. The messages can then be accessed to monitor reporting activity, generate reports or export the data to excel. Reported data can also be automatically plotted on a map to show a visual summary of field conditions.

The next use of RapidSMS will be in Malawi in early 2009 to transmit nutritional data from clinics to government and UNICEF databases, while providing instant feedback to mothers on the changing status of their child’s growth. The Child Malnutrition Surveillance and Famine Response project is an effort to use mobile technology solutions to improve the speed and quality of nutrition surveillance data for children in Malawi. Again, mobile technology will replace the traditional data collection process currently in use at Malawi’s child growth monitoring clinics with instant data transmission via mobile devices.

The project will enable the Malawian government, UNICEF Malawi, and their partners to map and track child malnutrition trends accurately and in real time. This tool will provide a critical method for monitoring rapidly unfolding food and nutrition crises.

via Mobile Active