The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has indicated that over 63,000 mobile phone users have been registered in Nigeria within five months on U-Report, a free short message service social platform that was designed to strengthen community-led health development.

The medium which will soon be inaugurated in Nigeria according to UNICEF has captured 75 percent of 165, 716, 078 mobile phone users in the country to explore the opportunities of information technology by every Nigerian.
According to the agency's Communication Specialist, Media and External Relations, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku, while addressing Journalists during a two-day media dialogue on the use of U-Reports data in Sokoto state, the U-Report is a free entry free exit basis to provide information on issues in their various communities nationwide and to educate one another on trending issues especially on health.

“U-Report is a Short Message Service (SMS) platform with a code (text ‘JOIN’ To 24453) and serves as a free social monitoring tool to address issues of public health. So far, U-Report has registered 63,000 members since registration in Nigeria began and relies on volunteer community members serving as U-Reporters,” he said.

Similarly, UNICEF Focal Person in Nigeria and National Coordinator, U-Report UNICEF, Nigeria, Anthonia Archie-Alogaga, disclosed that the platform was very useful during the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which allowed citizens to speak-out on what was happening in their communities, provided a forum to amplify their voices through local and national media, with alerts to key stakeholders about the issues their constituents were facing, and feedback useful information to the network.

She said that the medium is not a political tool but concerned with community health and empowerment for positive change. “U-Report is a watchdog that serves for transparency and accountability for improved healthcare service delivery by the government, organizations and agencies. And also serves as a platform for behavioral change that entails confidentiality and control panic of disease outbreak response.”

Alogaga further explained that UNICEF is currently implementing the programme in several countries including Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and South South-Sudan.
Responding, journalists at the event suggested that users should inform and encourage non-users to be part of awareness creation process. The need to develop an audiovisual arm of the medium was also highlighted.