Use of mobile phone services for preventing HIV/AIDS and STDs in southern Africa and beyond

From the early 2000s, the number of legal and illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe to Botswana has drastically increased due to the collapse of national economy and political instability in Zimbabwe. Along with the population mobility, several public health hazards, such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis have been continuously sensed without actual interventions. The public health problems now threaten not only the domestic public health in Botswana, but most southern African countries. Responding to the serious problems, this research presents the immediacy and effectiveness of strategies using mobile phone services to diffuse health information and practice among Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana. A high adoption rate of mobile phones among the immigrants and their unique cultural, political, and economic situations allow public health practitioners to use the telecommunication strategies which can be most effective to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. This research will demonstrate specific strategies for mobile phone-based public health interventions and discusses how the fast adoption of mobile phone and new communication patterns among the immigrants creates advantages and obstacles for public health interventions from the diffusion perspective. This research conducted a formative field data collection in Gaborone, Botswana by using ethnography, personal interviews and focus group interviews. Even though this research is based on the cases in Botswana, the telecommunication strategies presented with the cases can be applied any country where has a high mobile phone adoption rate, including developed countries.