Move Over Candy Crush: African Techies Create Life-Saving Apps
By Alexis K. Barnes
In Atlanta, data consultant Ed Zaldivar uses smartphone apps to book transportation, order groceries and talk to family overseas.
Nikole Dangerfield, a stay-at-home mom and U.S. military wife stationed in Okinawa, uses a feeding monitor app to track her newborn son’s breastfeeding schedule.
The novelty and innovation of smartphones cannot be denied, especially when many Americans use them and the accompanying apps to lead more efficient and streamlined lives. From the aesthetics of having a touch or bigger screen to the invention of apps that let you communicate internationally, the United States consumer’s need for innovation matches the equally important tech strides happening abroad.
Barbara Birungi, founder and director of Women in Technology Uganda (WITU), hopes to foster the next generation of “tech geeks” and is a part of the rise in organizations and incubators tailored toward increasing the technical literacy of women and young girls in eastern Africa.
Many of the apps and technological innovations created in her tech hubs are helping the Ugandan nation and African community with solving logistic flaws.
“One notable application created is a maternal and infant health application called Nakazade which offers information for mothers and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) on SIM cards embedded with information on basic pregnancy health care, infant care health, contraceptive use and immunization schedules,” said Birungi. “Due to poverty, lack of information and limited access to health centers, mothers resort to TBAs or homeopathic ways during pregnancy and infant care.”
Nakazade is built on the Abayima platform that turns basic features phones into e-readers and also works with SMS and smart phones.
Simple SMS-based apps, like Nakazade, increase access among Ugandan citizens improving healthcare, business and other societal sectors. Uganda received the 2013 African Development Bank’s eHealth award for its mTrac health management system, an SMS-based mobile connection that has sped up response time and health provider accountability in the country.
While Internet access and quality is spotty throughout the region, the majority of Ugandan and surrounding nations have access to a mobile phone. African apps are mostly SMS-based, using texted to share and spread information.
Frontline SMS, to date downloaded over 20,000 times, allows NGOs to communicate with people lacking Internet access in remote areas.
mPedigree, founded in Ghana, protects consumers from counterfeit pharmaceuticals by connecting mobile phones to a drug registry. Users text their prescription serial number and received information on the authenticity of their drug.
According to the United Nations, the global counterfeit drug trade is a billon-dollar industry and the World Health Organization blames about 100,000 deaths a year to the bad drugs. mPedigree, a simple SMS-based application, gives consumers some power in their health.
HiveColab, another organization started by Birungi, is an open space for the Ugandan technology community. It is free to all developers and tech entrepreneurs once they become a member- the only requirement is that you are working on a project or are looking for a project to work on.
“My hopes for Hive Colab and WITU are highly impact Uganda’s youth to think differently and create their own solutions to many of Uganda’s challenges like unemployment, poor governance, health and infrastructure among others,” said Birungi. “Technology, and especially phone apps, could really change our landscape.”
