one2one Integrated Digital Platform’s BULK SMS and its contribution to HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment for Youth and Adolescent Chelimo Keter Authors: C Keter; Thiomi J; Anthony K; W Mukoma; Otiso L

1 st Dec 2015 HAPPY WORLD AIDS DAY ALL IN for the HIV Response to

Presentation Outline 1.Background 2.Description 3.Key considerations 4.Lessons learned 5.Conclusions 6.Acknowledgement

Background HIV Comprehensive HIV Knowledge among 10-14yrs is at 17.4% (KAIS 2012) Comprehensive HIV Knowledge among Youth 15-25yrs is at 64% for boys and 54% for girls (KDHS 2014) AIDS is a leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa and 2 nd globally Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) 11.6% of adolescent girls have had sex at least once by 15yrs, increasing to 59% of young women by 18yrs (KAIS 2012) 18% of adolescents have began childbearing(KDHS 2014) Mobile Penetration in Kenya Young peoples use of the digital space is now higher than ever before Mobile telephony penetration in Kenya has hit 80%, in urban, peri-urban and rural settings 88% SMS popularity amongst adolescents and youth aged years.

Our Response LVCT Health is a Kenyan non-governmental organization dedicated to improving health care in African countries through strengthening policy and health system The Lvct Health’s innovative one2one™ Integrated Digital Platform (OIDP) has harnessed the growing utilization of digital technologies by the Kenyan adolescent and youths to provide SRH/ HIV/ GBV services.

one2one™ Integrated Digital Platform Our goal is to achieve and maintain improved health, knowledge and access to comprehensive SRH, GBV and HIV prevention and treatment services among adolescents and youth in Kenya one2one™ Integrated Digital Platform (OIDP) is a peer led innovative & evidence based programme offering comprehensive quality direct services & literacy to over one million adolescents (10-19 years) & youth (15-24 years) in Kenya annually. Weekly thematic content developed for all platforms since Schedules designed around important / international and national days celebrated

OIDP – Mobile and Web Based Platforms

one2one™ Integrated Digital Platform All these channels provide opportunity, through which youths can engage with a trained counselor at any time on issues important to SRH information and service. The platforms are complimented by mainstream media (Radio, TV, Teen Magazines) and below the line youth activations As part of the OIDP, the Organization runs a bulk SMS platform to offer comprehensive HIV literacy and linkage to HIV services to young people.

one2one™ Integrated Digital Platform

Why the Digital Platform exists Increase SRH, HIV and GBV knowledge among young people through an integrated digital platform Create a forum for open discussion, sharing and counselling for young people to explore HIV/AIDS, sexuality, SRH issues & make informed decisions Link adolescents & youth to targeted & appropriate services Mobilization for peer to peer education and advocacy

Bulk SMS Platform Accurate, credible yet relatable and appealing HIV and related messages are disseminated on a regular schedule via bulk SMS to over 5,000 registered clients. Subscribers also send an SMS for free for inquiries and / or counseling sessions Within 24 hours, the responses from the clients are addressed by an adolescent and youth friendly professional counselors in form of direct replies, referral to a HIV, SRH and GBV service delivery point and follow up for uptake of services.

Bulk SMS Platform – Online Report Monthly SMS Data is collated, analyzed and used for research agenda, policy advocacy and programmatic decisions.

Bulk SMS Platform In some instances, the counselor requests for consent to call for further information and counseling with the client.

Bulk SMS Sample hi how long does a hiv mother breast feed her child? If a woman is infected with HIV, there is a risk that she can pass the infection to her infant through breastfeeding. In the first six months, this risk is much greater if the infant is fed both breastmilk and other liquids and foods than if fed breastmilk alone. Therefore, it is recommended that the baby is exclusively breastfed for the first six months. Thank you one2one how can we prevent hiv aids Hi, first you need to understand how HIV is spread, do you know the ways HIV is transmitted? If not – kindly call and talk to one of our counselors for free on Thank you one2one

Key Considerations The platforms managed by adolescent and youth Adolescent living with HIV, Key Populations and Young Women engage in programming Trained adolescent and youth friendly counsellors Age appropriate content development and managing interaction On-Air and On-ground activation/mobilisation are crucial to driving the traffic to this platforms Age disaggregation for content developed enhances engagement Clients should be linked to appropriate services and followed- up The platforms can be used to conduct quick polls for decision making Need for a dashboard to consolidate data across the platforms

Lessons Learnt The bulk SMS tool has improved HIV literacy, linkage to, and uptake of HIV services. Bulk SMS for HIV Patient reminders increased keeping of medical appointments from 72% to 83%. Issues arising from the texts received included symptoms of HIV from the onset, transmission methods, the length of the window period, adherence and nutrition, discordancy and follow up for supported disclosure. Of the received messages, males accounted for 56% of the clients while females accounted for 44%, most of whom are below the age of 24 (63%).

In Conclusion As a free and widely accessible service, SMS has proved to be a suitable tool in increasing HIV literacy and linkage to service. This is because it promotes bilateral communication, and it is personalized to the client’s need in a short period of time. The bulk SMS service should be adopted and scaled up to promote literacy and linkage to services in other key areas in Health. Follow-up for referrals has enhance service uptake and linkage for those living with HIV To complement the Bulk SMS, LVCT Health is including a USSD Platform to address issues of message security and confidentiality

Acknowledgement

Thank you Chelimo Keter LVCT Health Adolescent and Youth Programmes Coordinator