A large number of Talking Book mobile devices will be used by Literacy Bridge (a humanitarian technology company), UNICEF and ARM to provide health education to people living in extreme poverty in Ghana.
The announcement of the multi-year agreement came on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on how innovative approaches could be used to make the vision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
As planned, 40,000 people will be served in the first phase, with the ambition to double this number within a year.
Talking Books were developed in 2007 by Literacy Bridge to provide people who could not read with access to audio files of interviews, songs and plays on health and agriculture topics.
This partnership is expected to expand Literacy Bridge's Health Behavior Change Program to serve 50 of Ghana 's poorest communities .
The impact of the program will be examined in terms of changing a variety of behaviors and objects, such as the prevention and care of Ebola and cholera patients, the treatment of diarrhea in children, breastfeeding within the first six months of a child's life, the identification and management of diseased plantations, the creation and use of natural fertilizers, the importance of planting seeds in rows instead of piles, etc.
“Literacy Bridge’s Talking Book program is an innovative use of low-cost portable technology to influence important behaviors that impact the lives and opportunities of the most vulnerable and marginalized children,” said Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Representative in Ghana.
“We are pleased to partner with the Behavior Change Program because of its potential to directly help tens of thousands of people who are difficult to reach due to illiteracy, lack of electricity and geographical isolation.”
The majority of the financial support for the program, amounting to $750,000, is provided by ARM and UNICEF.
Source: real.gr
