Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia
Mercy Corps, Sasakawa Africa Association, and CARE are leveraging Talking Books for agriculture extension and health education outreach in Ethiopia
In late September, the government of Ethiopia expelled seven top UN officials from the country. The civil war in Ethiopia is getting worse. To understand how the conflict has evolved and its ongoing humanitarian impact, check out this UN Dispatch podcast.
Amplio is currently partnering on several Talking Book programs in Ethiopia:
Sasakawa Africa Association is getting ready to pilot the use of Talking Books to train agricultural extension agents and enable them to deliver content in the field. SAA will use Talking Books in conjunction with radio, TV, and Digital Green content.
UNICEF Ethiopia has placed 400 Talking Books in health centers across the Somali region of Ethiopia and put another 100 devices into the hands of community health volunteers (mentor mothers). Low-literacy rates and limited access to radio, TV, and mobile phone has hindered health education outreach in the region. Amplio Talking Books were identified as a solution to help disseminate high-quality messaging on maternal and child health, nutrition, hygiene, cholera, and COVID-19.
Amplio recently hosted a webinar with CARE Ethiopia.
Earlier this year, CARE Ethiopia's Act With Her project used Talking Books to deliver sexual and reproductive health and rights education to adolescents in extremely hard-to-reach pastoralist communities in the Afar region. Community facilitators conducted Talking Book listening sessions with boys and girls groups. They also used the Talking Book's user feedback function to record their activities and take attendance.
CARE Ethiopia also partnered with Amplio to pilot a new application for processing Talking Book user feedback. You can watch our webinar recording here.