CRS ICT4D Conference

Information is a crucial resource in improving the lives of people - particularly with respect to health. Recently innovations in ICT have rapidly increased the quality and reach of both information and communication causing social and behavioral change. ICT impacts lives and development by raising awareness, contributing to training and capacity building among grassroots workers, aiding advocacy and improving. 


The Mobiles for Social and Behavioral Change (MSBC) study by the Digital Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with UNICEF, India presents a snapshot of the use of mobiles for social and behavioral change across rural India. The mobile is now one of the most widely used tools of communication in India. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the last count of mobile penetration as per May 2014 in India is 910 million. This implies that more than 60 percent of people in urban India and more than 40 percent of people in rural India use mobiles as their primary means of communication. 


The objective of the MSBC study is to evaluate the use of ICTs through mobiles-the impact ICTs have on the rural population through information dissemination, monitoring and tracking, skill support to frontline workers, and interpersonal communication.  15 in-depth case studies based on primary data assess how ICTs are providing solution based tools to various ongoing challenges around women, adolescents, and children across crucial sectors such as reproductive and child health, education, nutrition, and empowerment. 


Mobiles for social and behavioral change foster positive behavior and promote and sustain individual, community and societal behavioral change by not only improving knowledge and skills but also creating a demand for information and services. Overall, this study aims at illuminating the potential role and far reaching consequences of ICT in health, literacy and development of the rural population in India.