Ushahidi's Crowdsource Platform to Monitor Kenya's Vital Services
Internationally recognized crisis management platform Ushahidi plans to leverage its system in monitoring the provision of services in Kenya. Ushahidi setup a new website called Huduma (Swahili for “service”) which will use crowdsourcing to determine the conditions and effectiveness of the African state’s health and education services.
Since its first use to monitor the violence that followed the 2008 Kenyan elections, Ushahidi has become the ultimate crisis management platform. It has taken full advantage of the internet, mobile and computer technology, and software development to crowdsource relief during some of the world’s political, industrial, and environmental troubles. It provided vital information during the Haitian earthquake, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and, more recently, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. This information was used to channel vital aid to areas most in need and kept survivors informed of safe havens and no-go areas.
The purpose of Huduma is to encourage people to send in reports by text, email, or Twitter as to the quality of service provision in their district. The reports are collated, posted to the site’s map, and any relevant concerns are passed on to the appropriate authorities. All the data will appear on Huduma’s dashboard which will compare one district with another. It will also filter in other information such as the flow of aid into the country. The dashboard enables users to pull up the profile of a school or clinic and determine what aid has been received or view local reports on teacher performance.
Huduma will start in five constituencies spread across different areas of Kenya, and initially it will cover only two categories – health and education. Later it will expand to infrastructure, governance and water. We’re starting small to see what kind of information comes in.
Erik Hersman, Ushahidi Co-founder
Huduma has been in development for over six months. It initially began as a trial in Kenya, but Hersman has expressed concerns over delays in launching the project. Hersman points out that the delay has been largely due to slow responses from the Kenyan government in providing important information such as school locations. According to Hersman, in 2001 the Kenyan ministry received help from USAid to map all schools in the country, yet this information has never been made public.
Despite such setbacks, Huduma has gone live and is already attracting considerable interest from multiple entities. Aid donors see the potential to ensure help reaches the right places. Reformers within the Kenyan government want to use it to improve services across the country. Other countries, such as Nigeria, are keen to adapt the platform to monitor their own services and governmental functions. Ushahidi’s internationally renowned track record could see Huduma not only help Kenya and other African nations, but also reach out to other countries around the world.
