ABOUT THE WORK
An award-winning app that’s changing the lives of children across South Africa
Zoë-life develops tools to fill systemic gaps and enhance support networks for children, youth, and families. The KidzAlive Talk Tool app, produced in a partnership between Zoëlife and Qualcomm, is one such tool.
We are honoured to share that Talk Tool won the prestigious 2024 Global Mobile Award. Originally a paper-based healthcare solution developed by Zoëlife and endorsed by the South African National Department of Health, our digital recreation of Talk Tool is part of a wider KidzAlive Mobilized drive, which uses wireless technology to overcome the social and structural barriers associated with HIV testing and support in South Africa.
CHALLENGE
Zoëlife selected PlusNarrative to digitise and animate their valuable storytelling support tool. We aimed to create a world-class interactive experience which caters for rich child input, all-encompassing healthcare worker feedback systems, and comprehensive medical monitoring through ethical and private data accumulation.
SOLUTION
The solution needed to be appealing to children and easy to navigate for people who didn’t spend much time online.
We animated a fun collection of characters to help guide children through their learning journey, creating simple designs to make it easy for healthcare workers or caregivers to input information. Data security was the most important part of this project, because it involves highly sensitive information about the personal health of minors.
We built the app with encryption, so that the data sent from the app to an external dashboard for reporting would be protected at all times. The healthcare workers using the app often live in areas with poor connectivity, so we also enabled the app to cache data securely for offline use.
Today, Talk Tool connects the child, parent, or care-giver, and healthcare workers through a story told by a recognisable crew of characters relatable to children.
IMPACT
To date, over 31,000 children have interacted with the KidzAlive Talk Tool App in a 1:1 counselling session, KidzAdherence Support Group, or Group Health Education. The interactive stories offered on the app increased children’s retention of information and led to a safer, more positive grasp of their HIV status.
After receiving training on the Talk Tool app, healthcare workers in Qualcomm’s pilot study reported a 62% increase in confidence and competence in providing age-appropriate, children-centred counselling, disclosure, and care for HIV-exposed and infected children.
Talk Tool is able to diminish the fear felt during testing and support processes, improving the quality of life of at-risk children.
In 2024, Talk Tool won the GSMA GLOMO Award in the Tech4Good category – Best Mobile Innovation for Enhancing the lives of Children and Young People. The GLOMO awards are renowned for recognising innovation and positive change in the mobile ecosystem.
LINK TO WORK
CREDITS
Brand/Client: Zoë-Life
Product: App
Industry: Health
Product Link: KidzAlive
Digital Company: PlusNarrative
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