Rural Health INFOCENTER

Philippines

Organization type:

for profit

Budget:

$10,000 - $50,000

Website:

http://filnation.com

Project Summary

Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

Rural Health INFOCENTER is an online database of effective natural cures and proven home remedies translated in the language of people living in rural areas without doctors. The aim is to use technology to democratize access to, and exchange of, life-saving information. This public service project will provide the platform to aggregate contributions sent through e-mail, SMS, or web links. The information will then be classified, simplified and translated into different Philippine languages. People can retrieve information from the Rural Health INFOCENTER online or, for those without Internet connection, through their cell phones.

About Project

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

This project will bring life-saving information to under-served communities. The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. Currently, 80 million of its entire population of close to 100 million are cell phone users. Only 20 million Filipinos have Internet access. The rest, although they use cell phones, belong to the D and E economic class. These are the people who have little access to health care. This project seeks to give them information about proven home remedies and effective natural cures in their own language,through SMS or text messaging. Mobile phone text messaging for this purpose is a powerful tool because it is widely available, inexpensive, and instant.

Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

To build a web-based and mobile system with a growing database of effective natural cures and proven home remedies for people living in rural Philippines without doctors. The body of health information and cures will then be translated into regional languages such as Ilokano, Bisaya, Bicol, Kapampangan and others that people can retrieve online or through their mobile phones for free.

About You

Organization:

Filnation Technologies Inc.

About You

First Name

Angel

Last Name

Calso

Twitter

Facebook Profile

About Your Organization

Organization Name

Filnation Technologies Inc.

Organization Phone

632-4112831

Organization Address

Unit 506 Amapola Apartments, 9719 Pililia cor. Baler Sts., Santiago Village, Makati City

Organization Country

, XX

Country where this project is creating social impact

How long has your organization been operating?

Less than a year

Is the project that you are entering related to this organization?

Yes

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Innovation

What stage is your project in?

Idea phase

Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.

This project will serve people in rural communities who have no Internet access, no doctors, and no hospitals.

Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project

I have a brother living in northern Philippines who knows nothing about gout until he had one. He has no Internet access and we only communicate through text messaging. He knows I had gout before and he texted me to ask how to manage the pain.This incident inspired me to come up with the idea of an accessible body of health-related knowledge such as natural cures or home remedies that ordinary people can easily access through their mobile phones to relieve their pain.

Social Impact

Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured

Still an idea, but we have the technology to deploy the project.

How many people have been impacted by your project?

How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?

More than 10,000

Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact

We need to identify our champions in target communities. Then we will recruit people to help process information and translate it into the different Philippine languages.

Task 1

Look for funding sources and manpower support.

Task 2

Build the open-source Rural Health INFOCENTER infrastructure.

Task 3

Educate the target communities on how to use the system for their healthcare needs.

Identify your 12-month impact milestone

Task 1

Generate interest among stakeholders in target communities

Task 2

Establish strong partnerships with local government units, socio-civic groups and NGOs

Task 3

Look for corporate sponsors and patrons who will help finance the project.

How will your project evolve over the next three years?

If the project can generate a critical mass of knowledge contributors and active users, it can become a valuable resource for people in the rural areas. The fact that people can get life-saving information in their own language through cell phones can help ensure the success of this project.

Sustainability

What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?

This project can only gain traction if its target constituencies will find it useful.Educating communities of users is therefore paramount.We will design SMS campaigns to promote the benefits of this project.

Tell us about your partnerships

Since this project was conceived as a community resource, we will forge partnerships with stakeholders in target rural communities.

Explain your selections

We will explore all possible sources of funding for the project.

How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?

Continuing stakeholders' education, promotion, and marketing

Challenges

Which barriers to health and well-being does your innovation address?
Please select up to three in order of relevancy to your project.

PRIMARY

Lack of access to targeted health information and education

SECONDARY

Lack of physical access to care/lack of facilities

TERTIARY

Limited human capital (trained physicians, nurses, etc.)

Please describe how your innovation specifically tackles the barriers listed above.

It brings life-saving information to poor people in rural communities through text messaging.

How are you growing the impact of your organization or initiative?
Please select up to three potential pathways in order of relevancy to you.

PRIMARY

Leveraged technology

SECONDARY

TERTIARY

Please describe which of your growth activities are current or planned for the immediate future.

We have a strong technology group to build an open-source Rural Health INFOCENTER, but we need people's help to build the knowledge database and to translate the information into various Philippine languages.

Do you collaborate with any of the following: (Check all that apply)

If yes, how have these collaborations helped your innovation to succeed?