By Shipra Prakash
20 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Cell phone games are nothing new. But four cell phone games released by ZMQ Software Systems in 2005 is an invention that has hitherto been unknown. The games are unconventional in that they have a unique objective of their own: to increase HIV/AIDS awareness.
Increasing HIV/AIDS awareness through the use of cell phones ensures maximum impact. ZMQ Software Systems calls it the “device of the future.” When the organization launched the ‘Freedom HIV/AIDS’ campaign in India in 2005 and Africa in 2006, cell phones were involved – in the interest of creating maximum impact.
In India alone, over 2.5 million are infected with HIV/AIDS, according to 2007 figures from the National AIDS Control Organization of India. “We know that HIV/AIDS is not only a health issue but also a social and economic issue; this is why we have focused on addressing this issue. In the absence of treatment the best remedy to combat the pandemic is creating exciting awareness materials and providing health management tools,” Hilmi Quraishi, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Technology Officer at ZMQ Software Systems, said during an interview with MediaGlobal.
The four cell phone games: Safety Cricket, Ribbon Chase, The Messenger and Quiz with Babu (Image: ZMQ Software Systems)
The ‘exciting awareness materials’ Quraishi mentioned are the cell phone games. In India, cricket – a game that involves a bat, ball and two opposing teams – is by far the most popular sport. So, one of ZMQ’s games incorporates cricket. In ‘Safety Cricket,’ while one team aspires to chase a target set by the opposing team, it will face both good and bad balls. Some will come in the form of condoms, faithful partners, information on HIV and the AIDS red ribbon. Collecting these kinds of balls, scores runs. But, the team will also face nasty balls, and these can be unsafe sex, infected blood transfusion and infected syringes.
For those who are not inclined to playing a sport but are still keen for adventure, ‘Ribbon Chase’ is available. In this game, the player is pursued by the HIV virus as he or she travels to different cities and delivers HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The player must deliver his or her message while avoiding the virus.
But, if adventure games are of no interest, another option is ‘Messenger,’ where a dove – the symbol of peace and love – flies from village to village and drops condoms and red ribbons; the more condoms and red ribbons distributed, the higher the score.
The fourth, and final, game is for those who like a quiz. ‘Quiz with Babu’ displays a young man with a depth of knowledge about HIV/AIDS – and so his role is to ask the questions. Players must be able to answer ten questions with three lifelines – about HIV/AIDS – correctly.
ZMQ released these four games through India’s largest mobile operator – Reliance Infocomm. Both rich and poor can have access to the games. “The games were specially designed for low-end black-and-white mobile devices, to reach the grassroots communities. The games were deployed on everything from low-end and low cost handsets to sophisticated high-end devices,” Subhi Quraishi, twin brother of Hilmi Quraishi and second founder of ZMQ, recently wrote in an article published by the World Bank Institute.
While this strategy ensured that all sectors of society could access the games, it received an extra boost from effective promotion. “These games are marketed by a variety of partnerships with cell operators and aggregators, government institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). Often ZMQ takes a direct marketing approach in different regions through a variety of partnerships. We inform the public by going to schools, colleges, setting up campaigns on popular FM radios and television, conducting game shows and setting up promotional and activity campaigns through posters and advertisements,” Hilmi Quraishi said.
And, the strategy worked. Within 15 months, the games had reached 42 million people in India. A total of 10.3 million game sessions had been downloaded by the end of these 15 months.
Following the success of this campaign, ZMQ used the same model in Africa and released two cell phone games in 2006 under its Africa Reach Programme. In the African countries the program targeted were Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda – countries that have high HIV prevalence.
‘AIDS Penalty Shoot Out’ uses the most popular sport in Africa – soccer. The player has to both shoot and save penalties. When a goal is scored, the player will receive messages about different ways HIV/AIDS transmission can occur as well as misconceptions about the virus; on saving a goal, the player can view messages on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
Another adventure game, called ‘AIDS Fighter Pilot’ is based on a story about a village boy and girl dedicated to spreading HIV/AIDS awareness. They use their glider to travel to all parts of the village to achieve this objective.
ZMQ was recognized for its achievements at the United Nations Development Programme’s 2008 World Business and Development Awards ceremony, held in September. The company was one of just ten who received the award. On the occasion, Subhi Quraishi said: “The new socio-business model of ZMQ is a blend of its core competency with social development, which is a step beyond corporate social responsibility. In the fight against poverty and disease, businesses should move from being responsible corporate citizens to being agents of transformation.”
With ZMQ’s games reaching 42 million people in India in a mere 15 months, the Quraishis’ organization can be considered to be an ‘agent of transformation,’ because it has been able to reach and instill HIV/AIDS awareness in many, which has transformed the way people think about the disease.
