IT maps AIDS and TB services organization in Kenya

May 17th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 26, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Anne Babcock
Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO)
Chaka Road off Argwings Kodhek Road
P.O. Box 69866-00400
Nairobi, Kenya

anne@aidsportal.org
Tel: +254-20-271776/27175008
Fax +254-20-2714837
www.kanco.org

IT Maps AIDS and TB Services Organisations in Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya (May 24, 2010) — With just a click of a button, you can now access the profiles of organisations offering HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis services in Kenya.  This service has been made possible by a mapping project initiated by AIDSPortal, implemented by the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO) and based on Ushahidi software. The map, available online, allows individuals and communities to access the profiles of HIV & AIDS services organisations, their locations, services they offer, their contacts and brief descriptions of their missions and objectives. It also provides feedback on the quality and availability of HIV, AIDS and TB services from the communities and decision makers.  The map will make previously unavailable data accessible, thus facilitating analysis to inform decision-making.  In addition, it makes existing information more public and useful for planning and advocacy.

Currently, the online map contains information about more than 100 organisations delivering HIV, AIDS and TB services across Kenya.  Organisations range from community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, and networks of people living with HIV to private sector organisations and other national networks.  For many small organisations, the information found within the online map allows them to have an online presence for the first time.  The project provides an excellent networking space where those involved with or interested in HIV, AIDS and TB services can learn about other organisations, where they work and what they do.

In the coming months, KANCO will expand the project to integrate text messaging for those with limited internet to access information about HIV, AIDS and TB services.  This project can significantly improve access to these services for Kenyans all over the country.

“We are excited about this powerful new tool that helps people easily access information about AIDS and TB services in their areas.  It will be an important mechanism for networking, advocacy and lobbying, not to mention the potential to improve community feedback on service delivery and referrals.”

– Alan Raggi, Executive Director, KANCO

“I feel I am empowered. I can only talk good about this.”

“Others can find us online and may be interested in working with us. … I am able to go to the internet and get to my profile and update for myself.”

- Quotes from participants at KANCO mapping workshops after using the online map for the first time

View the project at www.kanco.ushahidi.com.  Add your profile today!

—    more  —

Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO) is a national membership network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisations (CBOs), faith based organisations (FBOs), private sector actors, and research and learning institutions involved in or that have an interest in HIV & AIDS and TB activities in Kenya.  KANCO was established in 1990 by a group of seven member NGOs.  For more information please visit www.kanco.org.

Ushahidi is a non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.  It builds tools for democratising information, increasing transparency and lowering the barriers for individuals to share their stories.  It is an innovative organisation that is willing to fail in the pursuit of changing traditional information flows.  For more information, please visit www.ushahidi.com.

AIDSPortal is a global initiative that aims to facilitate greater knowledge sharing and networking among organisations involved in the response to HIV and AIDS.  Its vision is a more efficient and effective global response to HIV and AIDS.  For more information, please visit www.aidsportal.org.

For more information or to get involved, please contact:

Allan Ragi, Executive Director

Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO)

Chaka Road off Argwings Kodhek Road

P.O. Box 69866 00400

Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: 254-20-2717664, 254-20-2715008

Fax: 254-20-2714837

Mobile: 254-0722 203 344, 0733 333 237

kanco@kanco.org

www.kanco.org

Anne Babcock

AIDSPortal

Tel: 254-20-2717664, 254-20-2715008

Skype: Anne_AIDSPortal

anne@aidsportal.org

www.aidsportal.org

Juliana Rotich

Ushahidi

Skype: juliechebet

Juliana@ushahidi.com

www.ushahidi.com

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KANCO wraps up Ushahidi pilot project with User Trainings

February 18th, 2010

Cross posted on the Ushahidi blog.

In continuing its commitment to the development of Ushahidi’s work in Kenya, Ushahidi has just completed a six-month pilot project with the Kenya AIDS NGO’s Consortium (KANCO) to  visualize civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kenya providing responses to the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. The project, in collaboration with AIDSPortal, UK, involved modifying the Ushahidi platform for Crowdsourcing Crisis Information in order for KANCO to map its member organizations. This work contributes to KANCO’s mission, “to provide leadership, promote collaboration and enhance capacity among CSOs and other stakeholders to respond to HIV & AIDS and TB at the community level.”

KANCO provides leadership in community systems strengthening (CSS) and policy and advocacy activities across the country. KANCO has extensive experience leading workshops and training for organizations in the field of HIV/AIDS and TB, and these standards for providing CSS were utilized to develop a workshop curriculum, based on the customized Ushahidi platform. In November, two workshops were conducted with 16 participants to gather feedback on platform’s usability. This feedback informed the final customization and last week, Feb. 9-11, a further 23 participants were trained at the KANCO offices in Nairobi. The workshops introduced the three partner organizations, provided background on the project, website demonstration, and user training. Participants were given an hour and a half to browse the website. In particular, they were instructed to search for organizations on the map, learn who’s doing what, where in Kenya, submit their organization’s profile and subscribe to the alerts feature on the map.

User Testing Guidelines
User Testing Guidelines

Overall, the 3 days of training were a great success. Participants responded positively to the project and enjoyed using the site, especially adding and updating their profiles. Generally participants thought the site was a good tool for networking and partnering, knowledge building, promotion and marketing, advocacy and information sharing. One participant described her experience as, “I have confidence and now I can do it for myself because I have been delegating rather than doing it myself. Others can find us online and may be interested in working with us.”

Workshop Participants adding Organization Profiles
Workshop Participants adding Organization Profiles

Currently the KANCO instance does not have a mobile component, but participants liked idea of adding SMS to the site. They thought SMS would be beneficial to them, especially for keeping up-to-date with KANCO and their constituents, particularly in regards to referrals. Participants commented that people are more likely to check SMS than email on a regular basis and that people are comfortable communicating via SMS.

Established in 1990, KANCO is a networking organization with a cumulative membership of over 1000 CSOs. The partnership between KANCO, Ushahidi, and AIDSPortal was established in early 2009 and the pilot project was supported by a Geochallenge Grant, awarded to the team in August 2009. For updates on the project, keep an eye on the KANCO blog.

Post written by Jamie Lundine and Melissa Tully.

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KANCO Banners

January 25th, 2010

Below are the banners for the KANCO Mapping Project. Many thanks to Caleb Bell of Ushahidi for designing them.

Add-Information_KANCO-252x173

Search-Services_KANCO-252x173

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Mapping workshops at KANCO

January 11th, 2010

KANCO, in collaboration with Ushahidi and AIDSPortal, is currently undertaking mapping of Kenyan HIV & AIDS and TB service organizations. The project is currently focusing on KANCO member and partner organizations, however hopes to expand its reach in the near future.

In order to engage members early on in the project development, KANCO held two mapping workshops on November 23rd and 24th, 2009 at the Nairobi National Secretariat. Workshop participants provided invaluable feedback and informed the project’s direction.

The KANCO interactive mapping platform allows users to learn from, connect with (network), search for and conduct advocacy with other like-minded oragnizations.

Watch this space for project updates. More exciting devlopments to come!

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