Our buddy Josh Nesbit from FrontlineSMS:Medic is doing some great stuff with Hope Phones, and we hope you'll help promote this excellent new campaign! Here's the press release:
Stanford, CA, 18 May, 2009:
FrontlineSMS:Medic today launched www.HopePhones.org and Hope Phones, a nationwide mobile phone collection campaign supporting mHealth programs at medical clinics in over 30 countries. The campaign will make use of old cell phones in the US to provide phones for clinics and healthcare workers in the developing world.
Cell phones are valuable tools in the battle to reduce disease and illness. The field of mHealth - the provision and coordination of health-related services via mobile communications - is blossoming in response to a global shortage of healthcare workers and the demonstrated impact made by simple, mobile tools.
Hope Phones will make use of the nearly 450,000 cell phones discarded every day in the US. HopePhones.org allows donors to print a free shipping label and send their old phone in to The Wireless Source, a global leader in wireless device recycling. The phone’s value allows FrontlineSMS:Medic to purchase usable, recycled cell phones for healthcare workers.
“Hope Phones lets you give your old cell phone new life on the frontline of global health. That’s powerful,” said Josh Nesbit, Executive Director of FrontlineSMS:Medic. “Just one, old blackberry will allow us to purchase 3-5 cell phones for healthcare workers, bringing another 250 families onto the health grid via SMS. Old phones can help save lives.”
FrontlineSMS:Medic is an nonprofit organization advancing rural healthcare networks in the developing world through the implementation of sustainable, appropriate technologies delivered through mobile phones. Its first pilot project distributed cell phones to community health workers in 100 rural villages in Malawi, saving thousands of dollars in travel and hospital costs and doubling the number of patients treated for tuberculosis in the catchment area. Stories about FrontlineSMS: Medic projects have been featured in CNN, Discovery Channel news, the BBC, The Guardian, PC World and Reuters.
The organization uses FrontlineSMS, a free, open-source software program that enables large-scale, two-way text messaging using only a laptop, a GSM modem, and cell phones. Their pilot implementation model places a laptop running FrontlineSMS in a central clinic and distributes cell phones to healthcare workers to coordinate care with patients in peripheral villages. Their programs currently serve 1.2 million patients in Malawi and Uganda. Future development of the FrontlineSMS:Medic platform will encompass electronic medical records and diagnostics at the point of care.
Coupled with free, open-source software, the hardware provided through Hope Phones will scale mHealth initiatives, connecting thousands of clinics worldwide to remote healthcare workers and patients. The campaign was designed in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy – the global advertising agency of the year in 2007 and the creator of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign – with support from kiwanja.net and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Simple ways to help:
1. Visit www.HopePhones.org and donate your old phones.
2. Spread the word!
• Email your friends, family, classmates and coworkers.
• Post on Facebook and become a fan of the Hope Phones page.
• Tell the world on Twitter - use #HopePhones as a tag so we can thank you.
• Let us know if you want the Hope Phones widget for your website or blog.
3. Contact us at info@hopephones.org if you’d like to help set up a Hope Phones collection center.
Media inquiries:
Josh Nesbit
Email: josh@medic.frontlinesms.com
Cut-and-paste tweets and Facebook status updates:
Hope Phones launches! Donate your old phone to medical clinics in the developing world. http://HopePhones.org (please RT!) #HopePhones (134 characters)
HopePhones.org launches! Mobile phone donations a game-changer for medical clinics tackling HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria #HopePhones (135 characters)
HopePhones.org launches! Give your old phone new life on the frontline of global health. #HopePhones (100 characters)
US is going through 450,000 cell phones EVERY DAY. HopePhones.org - donate your old phone to medical clinics worldwide. #HopePhones (131 characters)
DONATE PHONES:
Hey!
So awesome to have you involved with the Hope Phones launch.
Many thanks - I'll let you know how many phones were donated from The Extraordinaries' fans!
Josh
Posted by: Josh Nesbit | May 18, 2009 at 07:56 AM