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Humanitarian Futures for Messaging Apps (ICRC, The Engine Room and Block Party Report 2017)

February 2, 2017

Mobile messaging apps are the fastest-growing digital communications phenomenon ever. Today, more than 2.5 billion people around the world use messaging apps, a figure that is expected to rise to 3.6 billion by 2018 – that’s almost half of the world’s population.

Messaging apps have great potential to make a positive impact in situations of crisis. They can also introduce risks relating to security, data protection and privacy. Humanitarian organizations need to better understand the opportunities and risks in order to develop responsible, effective and safe ways to use messaging apps to meet the needs of people affected by armed conflicts, internally displaced people, refugees or migrants.

The ICRC, together with The Engine Room and Block Party, has produced this report on the current and potential uses of messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat in humanitarian situations.

Promoting contraceptive uptake among 15-24 year old youth using innovative approaches including ICT and new media in Western Kenya (Centre for Adolescent Study in Conjunction with David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2014 onwards)

January 24, 2016

Background: The Western region of Kenya has a high burden of HIV/AIDS, high teenage pregnancy rates, low condom usage and limited access to SRH information and services among the youth.

Unmarried but sexually active young people have an even higher unmet need for contraception, with 46% (nationally) indicating that they are not currently using any form of contraception. This means that they are not only exposing themselves to the risks of unwanted or early pregnancy, and all the social implications of such, but that they are also exposing themselves to STIs including HIV/AIDS.

The project seeks to promote contraceptive uptake – particularly condoms, which have been singled out as a critical element in HIV prevention – among young people aged between 15-24 years using ICT and interactive media in western Kenya. It is part of a wider programme being implemented in the region by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK), Family Health Options, Kenya (FHoK), and Marie Stopes Kenya.

What did the programme involve? The project focuses on strengthening the capacity of partners and stakeholders to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services to young people in four districts in western Kenya over the next two years. It was initiated by a set of strategies including health education, interactive media and linkages to health services.

The ICT and interactive elements of the project include SMS messages and an interactive Facebook page. Information relayed to young people includes awareness and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS), prevention of unplanned pregnancies, advice on abortion, and contacts of local youth-friendly health facilities. This is supported by a number of young peer advocates on the ground who distribute condoms and can link young people to health facilities for comprehensive HIV and sexual and reproductive health services.

Why this approach: Social media and SMS messaging are popular amongst young people in Kenya and can offer a confidential, non-judgemental way for them to feel comfortable about accessing information and services.

Results observed: Findings show an increase in contraceptive uptake by young people at local clinics between April and December 2014. Approximately 6,417 young people have ‘liked’ the Facebook page and many have used the page to engage with discussions about the consequences of unprotected sex, abortion, where to access HIV services and condom use. There are also indications that the range of health services offered to young people is beginning to broaden as a result of the project.

Lessons learnt: Social media platforms could be widened to include websites and other channels and existing channels could be strengthened.

No Hoodie, No Honey social media campaign (United Nations Population Fund, Nigeria 2013 onwards)

January 23, 2016

Background: In 2013 UNFPA launched its “No Hoodie, No Honey” social media campaign in Nigeria in order to try to educate young people, particularly girls, about the importance of safe sex. The campaign was driven by recent figures that half of girls under the age of 18 are sexually active and that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of adolescent HIV/AIDs prevalence: 3.4%. The aim of the campaign is to inform and empower girls aged 15-24 with accurate information and skills that will allow them to make informed decisions when it comes to sex and relationships.

What did the Programme Involve? UNFPA produced two animated videos, 5 minutes in length to which were placed online and were freely available.

In these videos, targeted mainly at adolescent girls, the two main female characters, Ene and Toju, discuss having sex for the first time, pregnancy, sexual transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDs, and using and carrying condoms. The second video also features a young male character whose behaviour and attitudes are also supportive of the film’s main messages – namely, girls in relationships should not feel pressured into having sex but if they would like to have sex then carrying condoms and asking male partners to use them does not make them promiscuous but is rather a sign that they are in charge of their life and sexual health. The videos encourage young women to carry condoms and to be assertive when it comes to their use, even when the man disagrees. The videos also try to stimulate discussions about the embarrassment girls face when it comes to initiating condom use, and give ideas for how that can be overcome.

UNFPA Nigeria has also run a regularly updated and interactive Twitter feed since 2013 – pushing the messages with the #NoHoodieNoHoney hash tag and encouraging engagement and activity through the use of online competitions and Twitter chats.

Why Animations and a Social Media Campaign? The target group, young women and girls, are frequent users of social media in Nigeria. Therefore it was felt that this medium would reach the largest number of the target audience.

The animations allowed a greater engagement as the characters were young people that the target audience felt familiar with and could relate to. Pidgin English is used to make the conversation seem less formal and more engaging for young Nigerians.

Results Observed: The campaign was widely reported in the Nigerian media, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. On YouTube, the first video has been seen over 6,000 times, and the second video has over 3,000 views. Over 7,000 people have liked the UNFPA Nigeria page, which focuses on issues of sexual health and the #NoHoodieNoHoney hash tag has been tweeted from, to and about on an almost daily basis since 2013. All of which suggests that the campaign has reached significant amounts of the target audience and is sparking conversations about sexual health, which was the aim of the campaign. Due to the nature of the campaign it is difficult to judge the amount of behaviour change it might initiate.

Lessons Learnt: This case study emphasises the importance of formative research in deciding target group, message and medium. Background research about sexual activity and health in Nigeria highlighted the need to focus on improving sexual health among adolescents, and revealed the lack of young women’s empowerment when it comes to sex.

It also highlights the importance of ensuring those without access to electricity/ICT do not miss out in social media campaign as the NoHoodieNoHoney videos were adapted into free comic books to ensure the message was spread.