Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Trilogy Emergency Response Application (TERA) [Technology Provider]

last updated Feb 13, 2012

Overview

Implementing organization: 
Voila Foundation (Trilogy International Partners)
Implementation Partner(s): 
Red Cross
Legal Status: 
Corporate program
Year Launched: 
2010
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
All income levels

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Donor
Funders: 
Trilogy International Partners, Voila Foundation

Technology

Technology Used: 
Computer › Apps/Software, Phones › SMS/MMS (Text Message)
Technology Purpose: 
Facilitating Patient Communications

Scale

Other Measures of Scale: 
Previous campaigns have sent up to 16 million messages
Summary: 

TERA is an SMS aid application that allows aid organizations to send blast SMS messages to cell phone users in a specific geographic area.

Program goals/rationale: 

This program was rolled out in the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti so that aid organizations (specifically the Red Cross) could send targeted messages to relevant parts of the population.

Key program components: 

This program lets aid workers see a map of Haiti and then mark then geographic region within which they would like cell-phone users to receive their message(s). This allows aid workers to send messages that or more relevant and action-oriented, in addition to reducing network congestion. This application is meant to complement traditional outreach efforts such as radio, toll free hotlines, sound trucks, etc.

Although Haiti has only 30% penetration of mobile phone and Voila has only a portion of that market, it was estimated that they had access to 50% of the Haitian population due to community effect. Due to its successes in Haiti, Trilogy International Partners is looking to expand TERA to other countries, such as Indonesia.

Program history: 

TERA's first campaign targeted Haitian's in range of a free vaccination clinic. In this case, 16 million targeted SMS's resulted in 152,000 immunizations which was better than the expected 130,000. Another campaign, after a cholera epidemic, sent 4 million SMS's which generated 90,000 calls to a free hotline.

When TERA was originally opened up to all NGOs in Haiti, some of these organizations began spamming their customers. As a result, Voila decided to work more exclusively with the Red Cross who were more organized in their use of the system.

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