FrontlineSMS
Today there is a growing realisation of the important role mobile technology can play in helping deliver healthcare-related services to communities in developing countries. Up until now there has been a general tendency to develop high-end systems for use by governments and international NGOs – “one-size-fits-all” solutions which attempt to solve problems on a national scale. These solutions often bypass smaller local NGOs, many of whom make significant – if not smaller-scale – contributions to healthcare delivery in the areas where they work. FrontlineSMS, a piece of software which turns a laptop computer and a mobile phone into a two-way group messaging hub, is trying to reverse this trend, and today is powering a growing number of healthcare projects around the world.
FrontlineSMS was developed by Ken Banks. Since launch in 2005, FrontlineSMS has been downloaded by NGOs in over forty countries around the world for use in a wide range of activities, including healthcare lobbying in the USA, to keep students informed of healthcare educational options in Portugal, public health monitoring of communicable diseases in Kenya, a community-based healthcare project in Uganda, the co-ordination of self-help groups in India, blood donation programme co-ordination in Botswana, health alerts to patients in Benin, clinic management and communications in Malawi, and as a reporting tool for avian flu outbreaks across the African continent. Other uses have included election monitoring in Nigeria and the Philippines, and as a tool to help circumvent government reporting restrictions in countries such as Zimbabwe and Pakistan. As a communications hub, and not a solution to any particular problem, FrontlineSMS is an incredibly flexible tool.
- Learn about getting and using FrontlineSMS
- Read article arguing for simple low-cost tools for NGOs
- Read about FrontlineSMS used to announce free clinics in the Philippines
- FrontlineSMS for clinic management and communications in Malawi
- In February 2009, FrontlineSMS:Medic was launched to extend the capabilities of this software and bring it to health centers across several continents. Please visit http://medic.frontlinesms.com/ for the latest information.
- Rien que la Vérité - a novel approach health education through music and TV using FrontlineSMS
Ken Banks, founder of kiwanja.net and developer of FrontlineSMS, devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world, and has spent the last 15 years working on projects in Africa. Recently, his research resulted in the development of FrontlineSMS, a field communication system designed to empower grassroots non-profit organisations. Ken graduated from Sussex University with honours in Social Anthropology with Development Studies and is currently working on a number of mobile projects funded by the Hewlett Foundation. Ken was awarded a Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship in 2006, and named a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow in 2008. Further details of Ken's wider work are available on his website at http://www.kiwanja.net.