Learning about Living, a project that aims to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to educate young people on issues around adolescent reproductive health, is running two information and advice services for young people in Nigeria called MyQuestion and MyAnswer. These services, launched in November 2007 by the UK charity OneWorld UK and Butterfly Works (NL) in collaboration with other key Nigerian health non-governmental organisaations (NGOs), allow young people to request information on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS through short messaging system (sms), by going online or by phoning a hotline. It also involves a competition which requires that young people answer a set question each month related to HIV/AIDS in order to win airtime.
To complement an existing toll-free hotline service which is run by the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Learning about Living launched MyQuestion to expand the service to include questions from mobile phones and the Learning about Living website.
According to the organisers, by offering three communication options - sms, online and landline - MyQuestion gives young people increased opportunities to participate and caters to youth with different needs and circumstances. The organisation believes that it is important to create safe spaces for young people to come forward with their sensitive questions and that even the shyest teenager feels comfortable posing questions about sexual health through sms or online because they do not have to say the question out loud. MyQuestion services are offered at no cost and are answered by trained counselors based in the Abuja office of Nigerian NGO, Education as a Vaccine Against AIDS (EVA).
The second service, MyAnswer, involves a competition which allows young people to win prizes by answering a monthly question. Young people enter the competitions by texting their answer to the number provided or by going online. Each month ten winners are picked amongst the correct entries. The competition opened on World AIDS Day, December 1 2007, with the question “What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?”. MyAnswer aims to engage and motivate young people to learn and reflect on various issues related to HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. The questions are announced on radio programmes, on the Learn About Living website, through schools, and through youth organisations.
HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, New Technologies.
MyQuestion and MyAnswer services received more than 2,500 contributions within five days of the service going live.
MyQuestion and MyAnswer form part of the larger Learning about Living programme which includes the development and implementation of an e-learning tool based on the Nigerian Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) school curriculum. The project is being piloted in three locations across Nigeria: Lagos, Cross Rivers State, and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. In each of these regions an NGO is serving as the implementing partner alongside various state government organisations.
Nigerian and international partners, ActionAid International Nigeria, Action Health Incorporated, Education as a Vaccine Against AIDS (EVA), Butterfly Works Netherlands, MTN Foundation, Federal Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Health.
E-mail received from Finola Robinson December 3 2007.