New innovations on reproductive health info unveiled
What you need to know:
It happens many times that a young person is in dialemma and at a place where he or she cannot easily access information on SRH and yet the adolescent is great need of that help.
Dar es Salaam. Information on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) is now only a finger tap away, thanks to four innovator university students who have come up with the right app to sort out the problem.
It happens many times that a young person is in dialemma and at a place where he or she cannot easily access information on SRH and yet the adolescent is great need of that help.
The four university students yesterday said they have come up with a solution to such a testing moment that only requires a smartphone.
During a challenge demo under the Amua Project, organised by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), in Dar es Salaam one of the innovator students, Ms Dorah Peter, showcased an app dubbed ‘E-Shangazi.’ According to her, it’s a 24 hour chatbox through which the youth can reach for help on SRH, by searching information on Facebook messenger App.
Ms Dorah says, “By just searching for E-shangazi on Facebook Messenger, one can get the information in seconds.”
“It’s meant to help people in areas where service centres are far away,’’ she said, adding it targets girls aged 10 to 24 in both urban and rural areas and that boys can also join.
The Amua Project is a six-month long programme that started in March and involved a total of 373 innovators.
Three other top innovative ideas aimed at solving social problems were presented, including one dubbed “Harakati za Lucy” which uses animated cartoons and audio messages to offer reproductive health information.
The project has been branded “Lucy”, a young girl who represents other adolescents in society where accessing SRH information remains a challenge.
Others were Maisha package and Mkwawa Community Art Space—all with the aim of delivering SRH information in a single package.
