Article by Phil Sticha

The rapid spread of pandemic diseases such as Zika, Chikungunya or Dengue also creates an environment for rapid spread of miscommunication, as rumors, myths or simple misunderstanding of medical information ricochet across communities, cities and countries. As governments and medical institutions mobilize to respond to outbreaks, online searches for information about the diseases increase dramatically.

But how often is a digital messaging strategy considered a key element of immediate public health emergency response? And are audiences finding credible, clear and timely information they can share with others during a pandemic?

Enter TechCamp Bogota: Transforming Health Communications, a two-day technology focused workshop designed to help public health communicators across Latin America as the region continues to deal with outbreaks of diseases like Zika. Led by the United States Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Colombia and Universidad El Bosque, one of Colombia’s leading media schools, the TechCamp focused on applying digital communications strategies to public health messaging campaigns on disease transmission, prevention and treatment.

More than 50 experienced medical communicators from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic came together in Bogota in late July for the TechCamp. A dozen trainers from such organizations as the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Sesame Street, Colab, the Pan American Social Marketing Association (PASMO) and General Dynamics used their combined digital and health communications expertise to train participants on identifying and adopting low-cost, easy-to-use technological tools to help them plan and implement more effective health messaging campaigns in their communities and countries.

 

The most credible online source of information on virology, outbreaks and public health in the United States is the CDC’s website, where visitor can learn Zika’s history (named for Uganda’s Zika Forest, this particular Flavivirus was first identified in 1947). Zika is primarily spread by bites from Aedes mosquitos but can also be transmitted sexually or passed via pregnancy from mother to child. While usually not fatal to adults, Zika is closely linked to severe birth defects, including microcephaly and impaired growth. As the medical community continues to learn new information about Zika, the virus continues to spread — making the communications challenge an ever-evolving one.

While not focusing exclusively on the Zika outbreak, many of the projects developed at TechCamp deal with that virus head on. One promising idea is a mobile app, Chikidenzi Dx, created by a group led by trainers from the CDC and Universidad El Bosque that analyzes different diagnostic factors for Zika, Dengue and Chikygunya. The Geosensus team developed a crowdsourcing project to map the spread and density of Zika cases across Latin America (below). The team led by trainer from Colab.re worked to solve the challenge of collecting data from skeptical communities by gamifying incentives for individuals and partnering with local governments who can provide funding in exchange for civic engagement and access to data.

This type of collaboration can be put to use all over Latin America and is only the starting point as the TechCamp Bogota participants apply their new digital skills. They’ll remain connected through a series of follow-on projects and continued, online trainings — sharing back their knowledge and helping others who are trying to confront pandemic or emerging diseases using technology.

As President Obama has said, we all have to remain vigilant when it comes to combating the spread of diseases like Zika. Vigilance against Zika requires an informed and empowered population, TechCamp Bogota participants are taking their new skills back home to connect their communities with the information they need.

Written by: Beth Howard

In Laos in early September 2016, President Obama told members of the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), “We should work together so that development is sustainable — especially along the Mekong, upon which millions of people depend for their livelihood and their food and their health. The Mekong is a treasure that has to be protected for future generations, and we want to be your partner in that process.”

In that spirit of partnership, U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh and the Department of State’s TechCamps team from the Bureau of International Information Programs worked with the Center for Khmer Studies to organize a TechCamp for the Lower Mekong region. TechCamp Cambodia was held in Phnom Penh on September 24–25, encouraging collaboration between young activists and technologists to develop new skills and exchange knowledge of digital strategies and technology to find solutions for sustainable development.

The latest green technologies are on display at TechCamp.

The 50 participants, all of whom are YSEALI members, came from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. The trainers came from organizations like Change.org, iLab SEA, Start Some Good, Open Development Mekong, Council on Foreign Relations, Girls in Tech and other organizations to work on topics like finding and organizing data, data visualization, mapping, digital advocacy, digital storytelling, crowdfunding, and making effective advocacy videos.

In addition to President Obama’s call to collaborate, last year U.S Secretary of State John Kerry outlined some of the threats faced along the Lower Mekong region, acknowledging that development must ensure that “future growth does not come at the expense of clean air, clean water, and a healthy ecosystem.” The Lower Mekong, which runs through Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, faces threats including pollution, overfishing, rapid development, and dams. Estimates reveal that three-quarters of people in the Lower Mekong basin (roughly 70 million people) depend on the river system for food and livelihoods, particularly in Cambodia and Laos, making these threats even more severe.

A floating food market on the Mekong river. (AP Photo)

The TechCamp participants partnered with local and international trainers during the two-day workshop to design projects to counter those threats. Projects created during TechCamp Cambodia included a social media campaign called #treefie challenge to promote planting trees to prevent flooding; an app called Trash Warrior that aims to reduce water pollution through a game that encourages recycling and trash clean-up; and an online advocacy campaign called #ChangetheDamBoard to encourage governments and committees to manage dams most effectively to aid fisherman and communities who rely on the water flow from the dams.

TechCamp Participants pose for a #Treefie.

And the work won’t stop here. At the end of the TechCamp, the organizers announced that there would be small grants to fund some of the projects that were developed during the workshop. This funding will support teams of TechCamp Cambodia participants working collaboratively to implement some of their project ideas, with a focus on practical, technology-based solutions to challenges that impact waterways in the Lower Mekong. It will also prepare these young activists to become more effective advocates for environmental causes through targeted outreach efforts around YSEALI YOUnified, an ASEAN-wide day of community service that will take place on December 3, 2016 to mark the third anniversary of YSEALI. We are excited to support TechCamp Cambodia participants as they put their new digital skills to use and work together towards a cleaner, healthier future in the Lower Mekong region.

What if all the major players in the tech for social good space got together and created a road map that you could use when designing and implementing your ideas from TechCamp? Take a Look – The Principles for Digital Development – is a great common sense guide for TechCamp participants past and future.

For those who have yet to participate in TechCamp – the main goal is for the users of the tools who work closely with the challenges on the ground to play an intimate role in shaping the solution. Check out principle #1, which is the main idea behind Techcamp – “Design with the User.” There’s no argument that getting the right people in the room that truly understand the challenge and how technology could assist is essential. Pinpointing the exact part of the challenge by users is the easiest way to increase efficiency. It’s not the tech person guru that understands the application, but more typically the more technologically skeptical or those who lack exposure to new tools that might in the end have the deepest knowledge of how a solution or strategy should be designed.

We also see repeatedly that principle #7 – which advices to “Reuse and Improve” or more specifically “use, modify and extend existing tools, platforms, and frameworks when possible” is an important part of brainstorming the right solution. It’s okay to copy someone’s homework. It there’s a tool that’s already working, there’s a good chance it might have some applicability to another country with similar challenges as well.

Finally, principle # 9 recommending the importance of collaboration specifically “document(ing) work, results, processes and best practices and shar(ing) them widely” is a great part of the growing process – building and sharing on existing solutions and lessons learned to ensure that a good idea can be expanded and replicated going forward.

More about the digital principles: Click here.