T@blet Comunitário

Vaccination campaigns have faced significant challenges in Mozambique, particularly in remote areas with limited healthcare services. UNICEF reports that vaccine-preventable diseases remain an important public health threat in Mozambique, with many children and adults lacking access to essential vaccines.

One of the critical challenges facing vaccination campaigns in Mozambique is the lack of awareness and demand for vaccination among communities, especially those in remote areas. The World Bank Group's report highlights that low vaccine demand is often due to a lack of trust in the healthcare system, limited access to health facilities, and inadequate health literacy. This situation calls for innovative solutions to create awareness and vaccination demand, especially in remote areas.

Another challenge is the logistics of vaccine transportation, particularly in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Mozambique's Ministry of Health reports that the country's vast geography and underdeveloped infrastructure often make it challenging to transport vaccines to remote locations while maintaining their quality and safety. The need for a reliable cold chain and real-time temperature monitoring during transportation is critical to ensure the efficacy of vaccines.

Sources: 

• UNICEF. (2021). Mozambique. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/mozambique/
• World Bank Group. (2018). Mozambique - Systematic country diagnostic. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29991
• Ministry of Health Mozambique. (2021). Immunization. Retrieved from https://www.misau.gov.mz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=141&lang=en

Tablet Comunitário is a digital device designed to provide education and health services to rural and remote communities in Mozambique. It is a mobile digital school that runs on Multimedia  and interactive screens addressed to groups of people +100 people to individual dedicated Digital Cabins, powered by solar panels that can be attached to any transportation, from a motor vehicle to a donkey. The tablet provides customized animations that are relevant and familiar to local communities, using gamification to increase engagement and collect vital data to demonstrate how well a message has been understood.

The tablet's audio and visual infrastructure can deliver virtual interactions using solar energy regardless of location and energy supply. It provides digital health campaigns, making it possible to disseminate preventative methods to communities in a manner that is easy to comprehend and acceptable. The tablet's cold chain plug-and-play facilities assist in the transportation and logistics of vaccines, making it possible to have an all-in-one unit with registration facilities to create digital databases. 

By providing an innovative solution to reduce the digital gap in rural and remote areas, Tablet Comunitário can help empower communities with capacity building in a digital format.

Rural and remote communities in Mozambique are often underserved regarding immunization service delivery, which can result in low vaccination coverage and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. According to the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage, approximately 54% of Mozambique's population lives in rural areas, and these communities face significant barriers to accessing healthcare services, including immunization.

A report by UNICEF highlights that many children and adults in Mozambique lack access to essential vaccines, with vaccine-preventable diseases remaining a significant public health threat. This situation is often due to limited access to health facilities, inadequate health literacy, and a lack of trust in the healthcare system, particularly among communities in remote areas.

The World Bank Group's report also highlights the challenges of vaccine transportation to remote and hard-to-reach areas, given Mozambique's vast geography and underdeveloped infrastructure. These challenges often make it difficult to maintain the quality and safety of vaccines during transportation.

The Ministry of Health in Mozambique has been working to improve immunization coverage and access to vaccines in rural and remote areas through various initiatives, including outreach campaigns and mobile vaccination teams. However, these efforts have been limited by the lack of resources and infrastructure, including cold chain equipment and reliable transportation.

Tablet Comunitário can help address these challenges by providing an innovative solution that can create demand for vaccination, facilitate the distribution of vaccines, and support digital health campaigns. The tablet's audio and visual infrastructure can deliver health messages and education sessions to communities, including those in remote locations. Its solar-powered feature ensures that it can operate in areas without electricity. Additionally, the tablet's ability to support cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation can help ensure vaccine quality and safety during transport to remote locations.

Using Tablet Comunitário to deliver immunization services and support digital health campaigns, rural and remote communities in Mozambique can have increased access to essential vaccines and health education, improving health outcomes and preventing future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Sources:

Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage. (2015). Community-based primary healthcare: Lessons from global experiences. Retrieved from https://www.jointlearningnetwork.org/resources/community-based-primary-healthcare-lessons-from-global-experiences/

Ministério da Saúde [Ministry of Health] (2021). Campanhas de vacinação [Vaccination campaigns]. Retrieved from https://www.misau.gov.mz/index.php/vacinas/campanhas-de-vacinacao

UNICEF. (2021). Mozambique: Immunization. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/country/moz/immunization/

World Bank Group. (2018). Mozambique health sector note: Towards universal health coverage. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/684911520331430720/Mozambique-Health-Sector-Note-Towards-Universal-Health-Coverage.

MISAU. (2017). Programa ampliado de vacinação (PAV) [Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI)]. Retrieved from https://www.misau.gov.mz/index.php/vacinas/programa-ampliado-de-vacinacao-pav

Dayn Amade and Fabrice Musoni are the right people to design and deliver the Tablet Comunitário solution to the target population in Mozambique. Dayn Amade, the creator of the Community Tablet, is a Mozambican entrepreneur who has been working to reach rural communities since 2015. His company, The Community Tablet, has partnered with NGOs, governments, and other corporate partners to increase access to education and bridge the digital divide in Africa.

Fabrice Musoni, a Programme Specialist focusing on Innovation at UNICEF, is implementing the comprehensive vaccination campaign in collaboration with MISAU and partners to reach the most marginalized communities in Mozambique. His work at UNICEF involves designing and implementing innovative solutions to improve access to health and education services for children and their families.

To ensure that the Tablet Comunitário solution is effectively designed and delivered to the target population, Dayn, and Fabrice's team has been working closely with the communities they serve. They have engaged with local stakeholders and conducted extensive research to understand the needs of the communities and identify the best approach to deliver essential vaccines and health education.

The team has been using a participatory design approach, meaning that the communities' input, ideas, and agendas are meaningfully guiding the design and implementation of the solution. They have been working with anthropologists at Mozambique's leading university, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, to deliver customized animations relevant and familiar to local communities. Additionally, gamification increases engagement while collecting vital data to demonstrate how well a message has been understood.

Dayn and Fabrice's team have gained national and international recognition through their work for their innovative approach to improving access to education and healthcare services in Mozambique. By engaging with the communities they serve and incorporating their input into the design and implementation of the solution, they are effectively addressing the needs of underserved populations in rural and remote areas of Mozambique.

Tablet Comunitário has helped to educate more than two million Mozambicans across 90 communities since hitting the road in 2015. The solution currently serves 180,000 people. 

If selected as a Solver team, Tablet Comunitário could benefit from the nine-month program offered by Solve, which includes access to funding through grants and investments, leadership coaching, and strategic advice from experts in the Solve and MIT networks. The team could also join a class of impressive peers that act as a trusted support group and gain exposure in the media and at conferences. Additionally, the team could access relevant in-kind resources such as software licenses and legal services from Solve supporters. These resources would help the team scale their solution and find a cost-effective business model to ensure sustainability and increase their impact in reaching more rural and remote communities with essential vaccines and health education.

Tablet Comunitário is an innovative solution to the challenges of healthcare service delivery, education, and digital literacy in rural and remote communities in Mozambique. Our tablet leverages cutting-edge technology, including audio and visual infrastructure powered by solar energy and cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation, to overcome the challenges faced by these communities.

What sets Tablet Comunitário apart is its holistic approach to addressing rural and remote communities' healthcare and education needs. Through our tablet, we provide virtual interactions regardless of location and energy supply, enabling us to reach communities often underserved regarding healthcare services and education. Our tablet also offers digital health campaigns, including delivering health messages, conducting health education sessions, and monitoring vaccine uptake, to increase awareness and demand for vaccination and improve health literacy levels.

Tablet Comunitário's approach also includes collecting vital data to demonstrate how well a message has been understood, using gamification to increase engagement, and creating customized animations that are relevant and familiar to local communities. By taking these innovative steps, we aim to increase the effectiveness of our solution in improving healthcare outcomes and promoting education.

Furthermore, Tablet Comunitário can catalyze broader positive impacts in healthcare service delivery and education by inspiring others to develop innovative solutions tailored to the needs of underserved communities. By sharing our success stories and lessons learned, we hope to encourage other entrepreneurs, NGOs, and government agencies to work towards developing and implementing innovative solutions that address the challenges faced by rural and remote communities.

Regarding changing the market, Tablet Comunitário is a unique and cost-effective solution that can help bridge the digital divide and provide essential healthcare and education services to underserved communities. By demonstrating the effectiveness of our solution in Mozambique and other developing countries, we hope to encourage other organizations to invest in similar innovative solutions that can improve the lives of people in remote and rural areas.

The impact goals of Tablet Comunitário as a cost-effective mobile solution for social mobilization campaigns for SDGs in Mozambique and beyond are to improve access to essential healthcare services, increase health literacy, and prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. To achieve these goals, the following plans have been put in place:

1. Expand the reach of Tablet Comunitário: The team plans to expand the reach of Tablet Comunitário to more rural and remote communities in Mozambique and beyond, including emergency response sites and refugee and IDP camps. This expansion will help to increase access to essential healthcare services, including immunization, and improve health outcomes.

2. Increase awareness and demand for vaccination: Tablet Comunitário will create awareness and demand for immunization among communities, especially those in remote areas. This approach will help to address the challenge of low demand for vaccines due to limited access to health facilities, inadequate health literacy, and a lack of trust in the healthcare system.

3. Support digital health campaigns: Tablet Comunitário will support digital health campaigns, including delivering health messages, conducting health education sessions, and monitoring vaccine uptake. This approach can be helpful in areas with low health literacy levels, where traditional health promotion methods may not be effective.

4. Facilitate cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation: Tablet Comunitário will be used to support cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation, ensuring the integrity and safety of vaccines during transportation to remote areas.

5. Establish partnerships with governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders: Tablet Comunitário team plans to establish partnerships with governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to scale up the solution and maximize its impact. These partnerships will help to increase access to essential healthcare services, improve health outcomes, and prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Over the next year and the next five years, the team plans to achieve these impact goals by leveraging Tablet Comunitário's innovative features to address the challenges of low demand for vaccination, inadequate health literacy, and vaccine transportation logistics. Through these efforts, Tablet Comunitário aims to transform people's lives by improving access to essential healthcare services and preventing future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Mozambique and beyond.

We are measuring our progress toward our impact goals through various indicators, including those aligned with SDG3. We aim to improve immunization coverage and access to healthcare services in rural and remote communities in Mozambique and beyond, focusing on preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

To measure progress towards our impact goals, we plan to use indicators such as:

1. Immunization coverage rates for target communities: We will track the number of individuals who receive essential vaccines through our vaccination campaigns and outreach initiatives, focusing on communities in rural and remote areas. We will use SDG3.8.1 to measure our progress, which tracks the percentage of the target population who receive essential vaccines.

2. Health literacy levels in target communities: We will monitor the health literacy levels in target communities, particularly those in remote areas, to ensure that our health education initiatives are effective. We will use SDG3.8.2 to measure our progress, which tracks the percentage of the population with functional health literacy skills.

3. Cold chain integrity and vaccine safety during transportation: We will monitor the integrity and security of vaccines during transport to remote areas to ensure that the vaccines remain effective. We will use SDG3.8.3 to measure our progress, which tracks the percentage of vaccines that stay safe and effective during transport and storage.

4. Community engagement and demand for vaccination: We will monitor community engagement and the need for immunization in target communities, particularly remote areas. We will use SDG3.8.4 to measure our progress, which tracks the percentage of the population who believe vaccination is essential for their health.

By tracking these indicators, we can measure our progress toward our impact goals and adjust our strategies and interventions to ensure we effectively reach and serve our target communities.

Tablet Comunitário's theory of change is based on the premise that improving access to healthcare services, increasing health literacy, and creating demand for vaccination can lead to improved health outcomes and prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in rural and remote communities in Mozambique and beyond. Our theory of change is as follows:

1. Activities: We provide an innovative and cost-effective solution in the form of Tablet Comunitário to rural and remote communities, which is equipped with audio and visual infrastructure and powered by solar energy. The tablet delivers health messages and education sessions to communities, including those in remote locations, and supports cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation.

2. Outputs: The tablet's features help create awareness and demand for vaccination, improve access to healthcare services, and increase community health literacy.

3. Outcomes: By creating demand for vaccination and improving access to healthcare services, more people in rural and remote communities can receive essential vaccines and health education, improving health outcomes and preventing future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This contributes to achieving SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being, precisely target 3.8, which aims to achieve universal health coverage, including access to essential vaccines.

Our theory of change is supported by evidence from third-party research, such as reports by UNICEF and the World Bank Group, which highlight the challenges of low demand for vaccines, inadequate health literacy, and vaccine transportation logistics in Mozambique's rural and remote communities. Additionally, our engagement with communities and stakeholders during the development and implementation of Tablet Comunitário has helped to validate the links between our activities, outputs, and outcomes, ensuring that we remain aligned with the needs and priorities of the target population. We will continue to evaluate and refine our approach through monitoring and evaluation activities, ensuring that we stay accountable and transparent in improving health outcomes and achieving our impact goals.

Tablet Comunitário uses hardware and software technologies to deliver its innovative solution. The tablet's hardware includes four to six large LCD screens, solar panels, and cold chain facilities. The software technology used by the tablet consists of custom-made animations, gamification, and virtual interactions.

The tablet is designed to be portable and solar-powered, allowing it to operate in areas without electricity. This makes it ideal for use in rural and remote communities in Mozambique, where access to electricity is limited. The tablet's audio and visual infrastructure delivers health messages and education sessions to communities, including those in remote locations, using animations that are familiar and relevant to local communities.

The gamification feature helps to increase engagement, while the virtual interaction feature collects vital data to demonstrate how well a message has been understood. The tablet's ability to support cold chain logistics for vaccine transportation is critical to ensuring vaccine quality and safety during transport to remote locations. The tablet also has registration facilities to create digital databases, making tracking immunization coverage and monitoring health outcomes easier.

Overall, the core technology that powers Tablet Comunitário is a combination of hardware and software designed to address the specific challenges of delivering essential vaccines and health education to rural and remote communities in Mozambique.

The Tablet Comunitário team recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusivity in all aspects of our work. Our team comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds with different skill sets and experiences. We are committed to creating a work environment that values and respects differences, encourages collaboration, and fosters innovation.

We understand the importance of having a diverse leadership team to understand better the needs and perspectives of the communities we serve. Therefore, we strive to recruit and retain team members from diverse backgrounds and promote inclusive leadership practices.

To achieve our goals for diversity, equity, and inclusivity, we have taken the following actions:

1. We have established a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee composed of team members from diverse backgrounds. This committee is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization.

2. We are committed to recruiting and retaining team members from diverse backgrounds and promoting inclusive leadership practices.

3. We have implemented training programs to help team members understand and appreciate diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

4. We seek partnerships and collaborations with organizations that share our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

By incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into our work, we believe we can better understand and address the needs of our communities and create a more equitable and just world.

Tablet Comunitário's business model is based on providing an innovative solution for social mobilization campaigns and health education in Mozambique and beyond. The tablet's key customers and beneficiaries are rural and remote communities in Mozambique, NGOs, governments, and corporate partners working to improve health outcomes and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. The tablet offers a range of products and services, including:

1. Audio and visual infrastructure to deliver health messages and education sessions to communities, including those in remote locations.

2. Solar-powered technology ensures the tablet can operate in areas without electricity.

3. Cold chain logistics support for vaccine transportation to remote locations.

The tablet generates revenue through partnerships and collaborations with NGOs, governments, and other corporate partners. These partners can help fund the tablet's implementation and use in social mobilization campaigns and health education programs. In addition, the tablet may also generate revenue through the sale of related products and services, such as data analysis and impact measurement. Overall, Tablet Comunitário's business model is centered around providing a cost-effective and sustainable solution for improving health outcomes and increasing access to essential vaccines in rural and remote communities.

Tablet Comunitário's plan for becoming financially sustainable is to generate revenue through a combination of different models. Firstly, they plan to continue to seek grants and donations from NGOs and other organizations to fund their work. They also plan to generate revenue through partnerships with government agencies and non-profit organizations that may require their services for digital health campaigns or vaccine distribution. 

Additionally, they plan to rent their innovation and associated services directly to communities, healthcare providers, and other customers who can benefit from their technology. Finally, they aim to generate revenue through licensing and franchising agreements, allowing other organizations to use their technology and services in their programs. Overall, Tablet Comunitário seeks to create a sustainable revenue stream that will enable them to expand their reach and impact in Mozambique and beyond.

Tablet Comunitário website raised $350,000 from partners to support their work in Mozambique. These partners included the Ministry of Health in Mozambique, UNIDO, PSI, and the Government of Canada. The funds were used to support the deployment of the Tablet Comunitário to remote communities in Mozambique and expand their reach and impact.

The Tablet Comunitário team also secured partnerships with NGOs and corporate partners to support their work. For example, they partnered with Save the Children to bring their tablet technology to refugee camps in Rwanda and with Swissport to deploy the technology in airport lounges to provide health education to travelers.

These partnerships and collaborations allowed Tablet Comunitário to access funding and resources to support their work, reach new audiences, and expand their impact.