Dropoffu 4 Her

Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management is a critical yet widely overlooked concern within the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector. In Uganda, the harsh reality is that 3 out of every 10 girls cannot afford or access essential menstrual hygiene supplies and information. This situation stands in stark contrast to the mere 1% of adolescent girls in developed countries facing such challenges.

In Uganda, easy access to quality menstrual hygiene and contraception products and information is severely restricted, especially in remote communities like the Kabale and Rukiga districts in the Kigezi sub-region. To compound matters, these girls lack private facilities for changing and disposing of non-reusable sanitary pads.

Adding to the complexity are traditional and cultural barriers, alongside deeply ingrained taboos, such as menstrual stigma and discrimination. These factors significantly contribute to the high rates of absenteeism and school dropouts in Uganda. Shockingly, on average, 30% of girls discontinue their education after completing Primary Seven, leading to an annual exodus of approximately 13,000 adolescent girls from schools. Further, the dropout rate for lower secondary education in Uganda is staggering, standing at 37.2%, as revealed by the 2016 UNESCO demographic survey. The Rukiga District Education Office reports that 189 adolescent girls abandoned their schooling in Primary Six and Seven over the past two years due to teenage pregnancy and early child marriage.

The inability to afford menstrual health products has pushed girls into premature sexual engagements, including transactional sex, as a means to acquire menstrual pads. This exposes them to the risks of early pregnancies, early marriages, and HIV infections, along with the associated dire consequences. Yet, there is hope. By improving access to menstrual hygiene products and information in underserved communities, we can effectively combat the deeply ingrained stigma surrounding menstruation, advance gender equality, and uplift the overall well-being of all, making for a brighter, more equitable future.

Dropoffu 4 Her App  is an innovative mobile application that leverages technology to bridge the gap between girls in underserved communities in developing countries and their access to menstrual health products, knowledge, and information services. In situations like rural communities, access to good quality menstrual hygiene products, knowledge, and information is critical for survival. The "Dropoffu 4 Her" app plays a crucial role in enhancing the timely delivery of these essential supplies and services to those who need them the most.

The "Dropoffu 4 Her" idea is a partnership between Doppler Technologies and Girls Must to leverage technology power to support ongoing efforts in the area of menstrual health. Spanning over 5 years of work, Girls Must has been actively increasing access for menstrual health products in Kigezi region, however with some notable gaps still existing.

The solution to this is the Dropoffu 4 Her app that leverages on the current Dropoffu platform and integrates the menstrual health experiences and best practices from Girls Must.

The app functions by connecting both public and private transporters to key stakeholders in underserved communities who place orders for these supplies. These transporters earn a commission through "Dropoffu 4 Her" for every package they deliver. Additionally, the app utilizes algorithms to identify areas affected most at need, those affected by Period poverty from the requests made by menstrual health hygiene promotion organisations in that area.

Organisations involved in the production, collection and supply of menstrual products are alerted and a discussion is then initiated. The App then connects them with a network of transporters who are ready to respond. This ensures that transporters can swiftly fulfill orders placed by stakeholders committed to promoting adolescent health, such as government agencies, schools, churches, and teenage mother centers in underserved communities.

Thes organisationa are further supported by an information section on Menstrual hygiene where they have an opportunity to learn best practices of other organisations.The information section aslo enables the users of the App both girls and women to interact with Topics in MHM as well as learn skills like making homemade pads through interactive videos.

Furthermore, the "Dropoffu 4 Her" app enables the public to donate menstrual hygiene products, including reusable sanitary pads, menstrual flow cups, tampons, underwear, soap, toilet bags, menstruation calendars, and other essential supplies. These items can be picked up by "Dropoffu 4 Her" drivers and delivered to the intended recipients. 

When an organisation in a hard-to-reach community places an order, the app prompts her to list the most crucial items and quantity they need. The app then alerts available transporters connected to the area and dispatches them to collect the supplies from Dropoffu 4 HER Stores and deliver them to the final destination. This guarantees a quick and efficient delivery of the products to those in need.

We serve school going adolescent girls living in hard to reach communities regardless of race, religion, creed and/or politics. Currently we are based in South Western Uganda working with 6 Districts in kigezi sub-region. We are working with District Education structures to improve school retention for Adolescent Girls during transition from Primary to Secondary school levels. Over 189 Adolescent Girls have been reported to have dropped out of school in the past 2 years in one of the districts we serve and our mission is to track and re-enroll these girls through adressing root challenges that contribute to school absenteeism in both Primary and Secondary Schools.

"Dropoffu 4 Her" is proud of its diverse team, which is representative of the communities it aims to serve. Our team is composed of individuals from various backgrounds and experience working in the area of marternal health. Our Team Lead, Ms. Maurine Tukahirwa, the C.E.O Girls Must Ugandahas been involved in the implementation of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management strategy in Uganda. She worked to launch the #EndPeriodPoverty Campaign in Uganda with support from key collaborators like the Period Equality Network, United Nations Population Fund and the National SDG Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister. 
Donald Waruhanga, CEO Doppler Technologies and co-lead on the project has previously worked with UNFPA to implement the GetIN App, a teenage mothers follow Uptool. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health focusing on maternal health.We believe that this diversity brings unique perspectives and experiences that enable us to better understand the needs of our target population.

To ensure that our solution is community-centered, we involve the communities we serve in the design and development process. We conduct focus groups, surveys, and other research methods to gather input and feedback from the community. We use this information to identify the most pressing needs and develop solutions that address these needs.

Additionally, we have partnerships and collaborations with local organizations, especially organized groups of motorcycle riders, who are crucial in navigating the hilly terrains of most Ugandan areas. We also engage community leaders who help us better understand the needs of the community. These partnerships enable us to ensure that our solution is culturally relevant and meets the unique needs of the community.

At "Dropoffu 4 Her," we use user-centered design principles to guide our solution development. We incorporate feedback from end-users into our design process and iterate on our solution based on user feedback. This approach ensures that our solution is tailored to the needs of the community and is user-friendly.

Lastly, we are committed to measuring the impact of our solution on the communities we serve. We plan to collect data and use it to continuously improve our solution and ensure that it's meeting the needs of the community. This approach helps us understand the effectiveness of our solution and make any necessary adjustments to better serve the community.

Our solution is not just a concept; it is a fully developed prototype that has undergone rigorous testing and refinement of its functionality. Our team has worked diligently to create a functional model, which has gone through multiple rounds of design and development based on user feedback and market research.

Extensive user testing has been conducted to ensure that our prototype is not only functional but also scalable and viable for real-world application. By consistently incorporating feedback from end-users, we have iteratively improved our solution, leading to the current prototype.

Our prototype has been developed with scalability in mind and holds the potential to be implemented on a larger scale, making it a practical solution to address the needs of our target audience.

We acknowledge that the success of our solution depends on its ability to meet the needs of the communities we serve. Thus, we have actively involved our target audience in the design and development of our solution. Through focus groups, surveys, needs assessments, and other research methods, we have gathered input and feedback from the community, which we have incorporated into our solution design.

In addition to user feedback, we have leveraged partnerships with local organizations like NFT Mobility and HillsLink transporters, who have provided us with valuable insights into the cargo and mobility space. Collaborating with these stakeholders ensures that our solution is culturally relevant and tailored to the unique needs of the community.

We have adopted a user-centered design approach in developing our solution, and we are committed to continued iteration based on community feedback. We firmly believe that our prototype is well-positioned to address the challenges faced by parents and educators, and we are excited to continue refining it to achieve our vision of serving billions of families and educators globally.

At Dropffu 4 Her, we strive to revolutionize access to menstrual health products, knowledge, and information services in under-served communities in developing countries by utilizing cutting-edge technology. Our approach is grounded in data-driven decision making, scalability, and accessibility, making it possible to serve low-income, minority, and far to reach communities.

Through our use of AI technology, we can map out areas affected by Period Poverty and quickly alert our network of transporters. In addition, we prompt key stakeholders in Adolescent Health, government schools, individuals in teenage mother care centers, churches and youth friendly corners to identify the most critical items they need. This strategy enables us to improve access to menstrual health products, knowledge, and information services by connecting public and private transporters to those who require these resources.

Moreover, we facilitate public donations of essential items, such as re-usable sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual flow cups, under-wear, soap, toilet bags and menstrual calendars. Our app links donors to our network of Dropffu 4 Her drivers who can collect and deliver the donations to their final destination.

At Dropffu 4 Her, we pride ourselves on our innovative approach to addressing the challenges faced in under-served communities in developing countries. We are committed to leveraging technology to create positive change in the world and make a meaningful impact on people's lives.

DropoffU 4 Her is an innovative app designed to address menstrual health and hygiene challenges for adolescent girls in rural areas. Here's a description of the app's features.

Features:

Last-Mile Delivery Service: The app offers a courier feature that allows individuals to order menstrual health and hygiene products, such as menstrual flow cups, for girls in rural areas. These products are sourced from potential donors, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The app ensures quick and efficient deliveries to these remote locations and a mechanism to track Geo-loaction and progress of these products in real time.

Crowdsourced Funding: DropoffU 4 Her facilitates crowdsource funding for organisation working in menstrual health promotion, helping them raise aid, equipment, products, and funds needed to provide essential health products for girls in rural areas. These include sewing machines, leakproof material, menstrual pads and leak proof material used to make pads.

Information Section: Dropoffu 4 Her app provides an  section on menstrual hygiene topics designed to bridge the information gap by offering accurate and immediate answers to questions related to menstrual health and hygiene. It serves as an educational resource for adolescent girls, offering information about sexual and reproductive health.

The target population goal for 2023-2027 is to reach 150,000 users within the next five years in Turkey through field expansion,workshops and online campaigns. 

Our primary goal is to reach 1,000 organisations and institutions working in the area of menstrual health promotion. This goal  will roughly lead to 100,000 girls reached and supported with menstrual health products and information facilitated by  Dropoffu 4 Her. In addition,  we are using an outcome and output-oriented logical framework to create activities and key milestones (outputs) in order to achieve this goal. 

• Outcome 1: Within one year, increase by 20%, the access of menstrual health hygiene products for adolescent girls rural areas in Uganda.

• Output 1.1: 500 menstrual health promotion organisations enrolled on Dropoffu 4 Her by the end of 2024.

• Output 1.2: 10,000 downloads of Dropoffu 4 Her by the end of 2024.

• Output 1.3: At least 100,000 women were made aware of Dropoffu 4 Her.

• Output 1.4: At least 40,000 school dropouts prevented with support from Dropoffu 4 Her. 

• Outcome 2: By late 2024, scale up the Dropoffu 4 Her platform to be piloted in at least two countries .

• Output 2.1: To register Dropoffu 4 Her for use in at least two countries, that is , Uganda and Tanzania.

• Output 2.2: To enroll 1,000 rorganisations to use Dropoffu in at least two countries.

• Outcome 3: By mid-2024, create a sustainable partnership with at least three international organizations (e.g WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA) willing to use the Dropoffu 4 Her app to manage their logistics.

• Output 3.1: Create long-term relationships / active organization level users (at least two).

• Output 3.2: Receive sustainable funding from atleast 2 organisations.

• Output 3.3: Create and maintain tech infrastructure and team.

We would like to expand our tech team to include more under privileged girls as they understand the challenges in their contexts. We shall infuture include Technology and coding lessons on the App to enable the girls or these organisations working with them to easily extend support.

Once we reach a 1000 organisations and have documented substantial  impact (number of menstrual health products delivered and school dropouts prevented among others, we will begin negotiating with large healthcare providers such as UNFPA in the 2 countrues. 

We will offer Dropoffu as a tool to (1) increase the effectiveness of their logistics supply and management, (2) improve  menstrual health hygiene outcomes in rural settings, and (3) decrease overall school dropouts. 

DropoffU 4 Her is designed to address menstrual health and hygiene challenges for adolescent girls in rural areas. . In scope of this overarching goal: 1. We  improve the user experience, security and overall usability of Dropoffu App and 2. Getting more users enrolled and using the functionality of the mobile intervention through community outreach and partnerships. The first activity’s specific outputs are user friendly, scalable and replicable mobile health products (an order and delivery platform,a crowdsourcing mobile app) and ongoing improvements. These outputs are measured through technical evaluation using (currently) Google Analytics, Firebase etc. Metrics of focus here are number of downloads, daily active users, number of reminders sent and responded and similar quantitative measures such as the number of users that made a call to emergency services. 

The second activity is planning and executing community outreach, key person (or organization) buy in and creating long lasting relationships with stakeholders. Output of this activity is increased usage of our solution in the target population and integration of Dropoffu 4 Her to existing supply side digital interventions (electronic medical records, immunization surveillance systems etc.). Metrics that are of highest priority here are number of people using HERA, number of countries it is being used, level of integration to host country’s health system. These outputs also include metrics about usage of the health system, increase in the number of vaccines or pregnancy check ups done. 

Outcome of these activities is to decrease death and disability due to vaccine preventable diseases and pregnancy related risks via better utilization of preventive health services.

1. Maurine Tukahirwa, Solution Lead Girls Must Uganda

2. Nivea Nangobi - Technical Lead of the Solution - Deputy CEO Doppler Technologies.

3.  Nassali Amina - Backend Engineer

4. Donald Waruhanga_ C.E.O Doppler Technology

5. Katushabe Patricia_ Girls Must Uganda Accountant

6. Kobusingye Patience_ Board Member Girls Must Uganda

7. Sylvia Nakachwa_ Program Officer Girls Must Uganda

5 years

At Dropoffu 4 Her, we are committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity in all aspects of our work. We recognize that a diverse team leads to a more innovative and effective approach to solving the challenges we face.

80% of our team is comprised of women, and we strive to continuously improve our diversity by actively seeking out candidates from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Our team Our Team Lead is a key implementer of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management strategy in Uganda. She worked to launch the #EndPeriodPoverty Campaign in Uganda with support from key collaborators like the Period Equality Network, United Nations Population Fund and the National SDG Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister. 

We believe that by valuing and respecting the diverse perspectives and experiences of our team members, we can better understand and serve the communities we aim to impact. We aim to create an inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and supported, and where we can work collaboratively to develop innovative solutions that address the world's most pressing challenges.

Dropoffu 4 Her's business model is centered on providing access to menstrual health products, knowledge and information to underserved communities through the use of technology. Our key customers and beneficiaries are school going adolscent girls from low-income communities.

We provide our products and services through a data-driven, scalable, and accessible approach that leverages technology to identify supply chain gaps and ensure efficient delivery of good quality menstrual hygiene  products. Our platform enables us to connect with suppliers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the medical supply chain, allowing us to source high-quality products at competitive prices.

Our customers benefit from our platform by gaining access to affordable and high-quality menstrual hygiene products, which they may not have otherwise been able to afford or access. They also benefit from our efficient delivery system, which ensures timely and reliable delivery of the products they need.

To generate revenue, we charge a fee for our services, which is typically a percentage of the total value of the products delivered. We also partner with government agencies, NGOs, and other organizations to provide our services on a larger scale.

Our business model is designed to be sustainable and scalable, with the potential to expand globally and serve more communities in need. Through our technology-driven approach, we aim to make a significant impact on the lives of underserved communities by improving access to vital medical supplies and drugs.

Dropoffu 4 Her plans to become financially sustainable by using a combination of revenue streams. Firstly, we will charge a fee for our services to institutions such as hospitals, clinics, NGOs, Churches,and schools. These fees will be based on a per-delivery basis, and we will have different pricing tiers based on the size and location of the institution.

We also plan to generate revenue by selling menstrual health products directly to our customers. We will work with manufacturing companies, to source these products at competitive prices, and then sell them at a markup to cover our costs and generate a profit. Additionally, we will explore partnerships with local pharmacies, churches, schools to expand our reach and reduce our overhead costs.

In the long term, we aim to increase our revenue streams through service contracts with governments, both domestically and internationally. We will leverage our technology and expertise to help governments improve their supply chain management and ensure that medical supplies and drugs reach those in need.

To ensure financial sustainability, we will also prioritize efficiency and cost-effectiveness in all aspects of our operations. We will regularly review our expenses and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that we are staying within our budget and maximizing our resources. We will also explore opportunities for fundraising and investment capital to support our growth and expansion.

Ultimately, our goal is for our revenue streams to cover our expected expenses and enable us to continue providing high-quality and impactful services to the communities we serve.