Description of Session
In the most isolated and remote communities in Ghana and Kenya, citizens face challenges in accessing credible, consistent information about their health, well-being, and rights. Low literacy combined with poor infrastructure, low nurse-patient ratios, and limited access to mainstream media are barriers to the development of thriving and resilient communities. To address these development challenges, Amplio Network’s partners in Ghana and Kenya leverage the Talking Book, a rugged, hand-held, battery-powered audio device, which provides on-demand access to information for people who can't read. Our partners use Talking Books to deliver targeted, behavior change messaging in the form of interviews, songs, and dramas in local languages and dialects, to inform, educate, and prompt rural communities to practice and adopt key behaviors to reduce poverty, generate demand for essential services, and improve community health and protection outcomes. A recent randomized control trial co-designed by UNICEF Ghana found that people with access to health messages on Talking Books were 50% more likely to use bed nets and 50% more likely to wash their hands with soap. In Kenya, across four targeted counties, community health workers are using Talking Books to educate and mobilize their communities about maternal and child health and nutrition. During the last six months of 2018, messages about the benefits of early initiation of breastfeeding have contributed to a 10% increase (83% to 93%) of the proportion of newborns breastfed within the first hour of birth. Likewise, Talking Book messages have contributed to a 50% increase in monthly antenatal visits at community health centers.
