Civil society, public and private organizations and UNAIDS are leveraging advances in mobile technology to empower communities. Together they have produced a new mobile application called iMonitor+, which enables users to access HIV prevention and treatment services and provide feedback on the quality of such services.
The Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Pusadee Tamthai, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, the Public Campaign Officer of the Indonesian AIDS Coalition, Ayu Oktariani, and the Director of Service Workers in Group Foundation (SWING), Surang Janyam, launched iMonitor+ on 27 October in Bangkok, Thailand.
“This is a data revolution: real-time, mobile health information systems. iMonitor+ is not just a gadget, but a tool for social transformation. It will empower people to demand services and foster public accountability,” said Mr Sidibé.
iMonitor+ uses global positioning satellite technology to locate a user, who can then receive information on where to access condoms, HIV testing, counselling and treatment and other key services. If there are stock-outs of antiretroviral medicine and other HIV commodities, the user can send alerts to a central dashboard and be directed in real time to other services nearby. Users can also report any experience of stigma or violation of their rights in HIV service and other delivery settings to the dashboard. Public health authorities and community partners are working together to resolve as quickly as possible issues raised by the alerts.
“iMonitor+ has great potential as an important early warning tool, which can notify public health authorities of gaps in key services,” said the Deputy Governor of Bangkok. “By working with civil society to develop iMonitor+ we have opened up an important channel for dialogue and strengthened key partnerships for social transformation.”
Since early June more than 100 volunteers from five community networks in Thailand, Indonesia, India and the Philippines have been pilot testing iMonitor+ to provide feedback and adapt the application to each network’s specific needs. In Thailand, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has partnered with SWING to test and fine-tune the application.
“iMonitor+ is an effective platform with which to work with public health authorities,” said the Director of SWING. “It is providing us with an opportunity to directly influence the way the services are delivered to communities.”
The Indonesian AIDS Coalition has been running a trial with iMonitor+ in four cities, including Jakarta. Ayu Oktariani said, “We are finding that health authorities are taking the real-time alerts we register with iMonitor+ seriously and that they move much more rapidly than before to close service delivery gaps.”
The feedback from communities and service providers will ensure continuous innovation and adaptability of the app. This participatory monitoring tool is not only an important community tool for quality assurance and responsiveness of HIV services, but can give people the power to monitor services in many areas aside from public health and serve as an instrument for improved public accountability.
