“Project Masiluleke” has been launched by Pop!Tech, aiming to reverse the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) crises in South Africa and beyond through mobile technology.

A new collaborative project has been launched that aims to reverse the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) crises in South Africa and beyond through mobile technology.

“Project Masiluleke” has been launched by Pop!Tech – an annual ideas summit and social innovation network, in partnership with a coalition of world-class organisations, domain experts and cultural figures.

The project embodies a new approach to various public health challenges, utilising the mobile phone as a high-impact, low-cost means to deliver healthcare information and encourage testing.

Project Masiluleke, which means “to give wise counsel” and “lend a helping hand” in Zulu, will be known as “Project M” – which has also been designed to serve as a scalable, high-impact model that can be replicated worldwide.

In the coming year, the initiative will reach millions in South Africa – a country of 48 million people, where 90% use mobile phones and AIDS kills 1,000 people every day – connecting citizens nationwide to critical health-related information, as well as lifesaving HIV and TB resources.

Key contributors to the project include renowned global design and innovation firm frog design; leading South African pro-social mobile messaging group the Praekelt Foundation; groundbreaking South African HIV and TB outreach organisation iTeach; Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company, MTN; leading global communications enabler Nokia Siemens Networks; one of the world’s largest non-profit scientific and educational organisations, National Geographic; and a host of other partners.

Andrew Zolli, Curator and Executive Director of Pop!Tech, said: “Project M exemplifies the promise and potential of the Pop!Tech Accelerator: bring together visionary people, foster world-class collaborations, and help generate world-changing results.”

“After 26 years of an AIDS epidemic in South Africa, I feel we’ve arrived at a point – and a solution – where we can finally end this crisis,” said Zinny Thabethe, Deputy Director of iTeach and a catalytic force in Project M’s development.

The results are already apparent it seems, “Since Project M was initiated, we have observed a dramatic increase in the call rate to the AIDS Helpline – from approximately 1,300 calls per day to a new average of 3,600,” said Milo Zama, Projects Development Manager, LifeLine Southern Africa.

For more information, visit: www.poptech.org