Social Norms
Social norms action with informed and engaged societies
Social Norms
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
Time to read
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 12 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

mFistula: A Mobile-Based Film and Advocacy Initiative to End Fistula

0 comments
This film and advocacy initiative seeks to highlight the importance of mheath in the fight against obstetric fistula, and start a "dialogue about how the popularity of mobile phones can really overcome the obstacles that fistula repair facilities face." The campaign is based around a film made by Governess Films in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)'s Campaign to End Fistula. The film showcases a project in Tanzania that uses a money transfer service, M-PESA, to get women, who often live in remote areas and have no money for transport, to the facilities that provide fistula care. A website has been set up to encourage more people to share the film, contribute ideas on the role of mobiles in addressing fistula, and to make donations to the Campaign to End Fistula.
Communication Strategies

About the Film
The film tells the story of the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) hospital in Dar es Salaam, which provides fistula surgery free of charge, but was operating under capacity due to the high cost of transportation and accommodation which prevents fistula patients in remote villages from seeking treatment. In 2009, with support from UNFPA, CCBRT started a project using a mobile phone money-transfer service, M-PESA (M for "mobile" and PESA for "money" in Swahili). The project works with “fistula ambassadors" who go to remote communities and identify and refer potential fistula patients for treatment to CCBRT through a mobile phone text message.

Upon confirming the likely diagnosis, CCBRT, with support from Vodafone, sends money through SMS using the M-PESA mobile banking system to cover the transportation costs of the fistula patient. The fistula ambassador retrieves the money from a local M-PESA agent and pays for the bus fare of the patient, who travels to Dar es Salaam where she is met at the bus terminal by a CCBRT driver.

Since starting the M-PESA programme, CCBRT reports that the number of clients served rose from 268 in 2010 to 513 in 2013. Also, in 2012, CCBRT reported that 83% of fistula patients were referred through M-PESA to CCBRT.

The campaign

When Governess films and the Campaign to End Fistula were discussing a distribution plan for the video, they decided to continue promoting the power of the mobile phone by launching the "mFistula" advocacy campaign. A website was developed to give easy access to the film, as well as the opportunity for viewers of the film to take action to help women with fistula by using their mobile phones.

The website offers three mobile-based action steps for people wanting to help women with fistula. They can do this by:

  • Using their phone to forward the film to their social networks;
  • Adding support and suggestions for other uses of mobile phones to assist women living with fistula; and
  • Making a donation to the Campaign to End Fistula by using the online donation form.

Click here to access the mfistula Film and Advocacy website.

Development Issues

Maternal Health, Fistula, New Technologies

Partners

Governess Films and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Sources

Email received from Lisa Russel, Huffington Post article and Good Practices on Ending the Health and Human Rights Tragedy of Obstetric Fistula [PDF] on July 31 2014.