← All work
Girl Effect · 2022 to now · Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria & Kenya
Champions
App
One product for the people on the front line, built to work across every programme.
The Champions App and model now power HPV vaccination, sexual health and maternal care, from Ethiopia to Kenya.
My role
Zero to oneFrom a 2022 prototype to helping more than double vaccine uptake among girls
One product, many programmesHPV, sexual health and maternal care, on the same platform
5,553 ChampionsTeachers, health workers and community leaders
Four countriesEthiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria and Kenya
The brief
Every new programme handed health workers another manual. Build one tool that works for all of them, and for the people they serve.
What health workers told us
Too many manuals. Not enough signal.
“I am working with so many partners, they all have their own approaches and guides that it's hard to remember which is which.”
“Connectivity is really an issue. Sometimes I don't have access to data when I need it.”
“I have really big manuals and curriculum that can easily be outdated if there is any change in vaccine doses.”
“It's hard to keep track of paper based reporting. The forms can go missing.”
And supervisors couldn't see, week by week, what was actually happening in the field.
The Champions App
The right answer,
in their hand.
One offline-first Android app for every Champion. The right session, in their language, with a guide that walks them through it step by step.
Works offlineDownload once, run sessions anywhere, sync when there's signal.
In local languagesContent and guidance in the languages Champions work in.
One librarySession plans, activities and curricula, always up to date.
Guided sessionsStep-by-step prompts in real time, plus a practice mode.
No more paperDigital reports so supervisors can see what's happening, live.
“Before, I just told people what I could remember. With the Champions App, I'm confident that I'm giving the right information. It's like a teacher's guide in my hand.”
Health Extension Worker, Konso, South Ethiopia
5,553Champions trained
125KSession attendances
Build once, use everywhere
One product.
Three outcomes.
New programmes load new sessions. The app, the training and the reporting stay the same.
01
HPV vaccination
Ethiopia, Tanzania & Nigeria
+44pts
more girls vaccinated when reached, in Nigeria. Champions were the strongest driver in every country.
02
Sexual health
Kenya, with Tukisonga
3x
as likely to be using contraception, for young people in Champions sessions.
See Tukisonga →
03
Maternal health
Kenya, WAZZII Bloom
54%
of young mums in our groups enrolled in Kenya's national health insurance, so the cost of giving birth doesn't keep them from care.
What worked best
Champions won in every country
Trained teachers, health workers and community leaders were the strongest driver of vaccine uptake, everywhere. The Champions App gave them the content and tools to do it, even offline.
Trained ChampionsStrongest converter
Branded print, in personStrong support
Targeted radio and TVThe primer
Standalone digital and IVRLow return
Tujibebe magazine, handed over in person, more than doubled the odds of vaccination.
Outcome 03 · Maternal health, with MSD for Mothers
Pregnancy chamas, not waiting rooms
In Kenya, a chama is a women's group that saves and looks out for each other. Bloom brings that to antenatal care: young mums due together meet with a midwife, check their own health and watch a WAZZII drama.
1
16–20 wks
Trust building
3
28–30 wks
Understanding labour
4
32–34 wks
True vs false labour
6
40 wks
The waiting game
7
3 wks after
Welcome home
8
6 wks after
Moving forward
10 hours with a health worker across her pregnancy, instead of about 15 minutes.
164young mums in the first groups
10public and private clinics
105nurses, midwives and champions trained
“Health workers saw more mums coming back for antenatal and postnatal visits, better prepared for birth and more willing to ask questions.”
Reginah Adhiambo, Nurse, Mundika Medical
What I learned
Trust is the delivery channel.A vaccine is a big ask. Girls and families said yes when someone they trusted asked.
Build the platform, not the project.One app, one training model, one way of reporting. Each new programme just loads new sessions.
Tech is the support act.Standalone digital had the lowest return. Technology did its best work in a Champion's hand.
Next project
AI Health Chatbots →
