I want to know what to do when I get my first period and what changes to expect during puberty, so I feel prepared, assured and confident to manage them.鈥�
In many low- and middle-income countries, girls often have little or no access to information about periods, puberty, and reproductive health. We鈥檙e using our digital and research expertise to help Oky to provide young girls aged 10 to 19 years old in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea with evidence-based information about this in a fun, easily accessible way.
We're working with Bath Social & Development Research and Unicef to deliver a participatory results assessment of Oky deployments in these three countries.
is a digital menstruation product, providing information about periods, puberty, and reproductive health. It is available in 12 countries and was co-created with girls, for girls. The app provides individualised cycle trackers and calendars, tips, and evidence-based sexual and reproductive health information vetted by experts. It is also a useful resource for young boys, parents, and teachers.
The app is localised and managed in each country by partners. Localised versions are live in the Philippines and Indonesia, where it is downloadable as an Android app for mobile phones.
Oky is designed for the needs of girls without smartphones or internet access. The app is lightweight and works offline, and has multiple-user logins for phone sharing. Low tech options, such as interactive voice response for any mobile phone and radio programming, will be used in countries with low connectivity like Papua New Guinea.
To improve accessibility for children with disabilities, Oky partners in each country work with disabled people鈥檚 organisations to provide additional support to children with disabilities and their carers, helping them find, download and use the app, leveraging accessibility features.
"We know from our own work that adolescent girls and young women around the world don鈥檛 always have information that they can trust, that is also engaging and locally appropriate, about sexual and reproductive health. Myths and misinformation can be widespread, shame stops discussion and feeds unnecessary restrictions, and unsafe practices can perpetuate harmful gender norms. We are excited about this opportunity to work with the Oky teams and their partners. By drawing on our digital and research expertise, we can support Oky to scale-up and support more young girls and women to confidently navigate adolescence and make informed decisions.鈥�
Anna Godfrey, Head of Evidence at 大象传媒 Media Action
大象传媒 Media Action is sharing digital expertise with Unicef鈥檚 Oky app partners in the Indo-Pacific region with a specific focus on the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This project is funded by Unicef.