Nivi takes its Journeys to new heights!

We're supporting pregnant women in India, helping consumers get their desired insurance products in Kenya and continue to fight the battle against Malaria in Nigeria. Read further to find out more!

Founder’s Note

This note was not written by ChatGPT. Or was it? 

Since its launch in November of 2022, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, amassing over 100 million users in just over two months. Quite impressive! As a large language model, or LLM, a type of AI that is trained on lots of data as a predictive text engine and has been built on decades of research. It is now being used in a variety of use cases - from education to software development to marketing. Its latest version, GPT-4, is even more impressive than its predecessors – exhibiting a higher degree of accuracy in answering questions on difficult topics, is more detailed in its descriptions, and it can even pass standardised tests with flying colours. 

As a digital health company that leverages chat, we have been often asked lately, “when is Nivi going to introduce Generative AI and get rid of those menus?” To that we answer, we are taking things one step at a time, learning to walk before we run. Why? Well, ChatGPT and its successors have some non-trivial flaws that should give everyone pause when it comes to healthcare advice -

• Because it is trained on what is effectively the entire internet - with its incredibly complex mix of truths, lies, and misunderstandings - predictive text engines produce a heady mix of made up stuff 

• The verisimilitude of confident fact, combined with our common anthropomorphic tendencies, can undermine judgment, subtly reinforce latent bias, and exacerbate society’s existing inequities

In health, where accuracy and equity are paramount, and with Nivi’s mission to focus on enabling every individual to achieve their aspirations for health, we continue to learn our way forward with an eye to apply this promising technology in a way that takes advantage of its best qualities. Heading into the second quarter of this year, you will hear more about how we are using LLMs to further our mission, and accelerate our progress in helping people get the health information, motivation, and services they need. Stay tuned!

- Sidd, co-founder and CEO

In the December 2022 newsletter we reported the introduction of “Journeys” on askNivi and how that helps us guide users to better health outcomes.
We’re back to talk more about “Journeys” and there’s a lot happening here.

Nivi’s Digital Maternal Health Journey Introduction in India

What is Maternal Health?

Maternal health (MH) refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being.

Nivi’s global footprint on MH

Our journey with maternal health goes back to 2021 when we partnered with Pathfinder International in Nigeria to support pregnant women on their maternal health journey. Working in Kaduna state, the initiative aimed to provide mothers health information, facility referrals, and take feedback about their healthcare experience. Working together, we onboarded close to 2200 women, giving personalised information throughout pregnancy, noting pivotal milestones, sharing advice on diet, exercise, vaccinations and potential warning signs to watch out for, as well as family planning for the future. The journey also made referrals to one of 25 nearby facilities and solicited feedback from each expectant mother on her healthcare experience. Our partner, Pathfinder, reported that healthcare workers noticed women returning to clinics specifically because they received an askNivi reminder. We continue to provide the maternal health journey to mothers across Nigeria today and always welcome the opportunity to support referrals to new providers and facilities.

What’s happening in India?

In India, 97 mothers died for every 100,000 children born between 2018-2020. 21 of India’s 28 states are still behind the UN SDG 2030 target of MMR 70 deaths per 100,000 live births!

Nivi, in partnership with Population Council Consulting and Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research formed a consortium in January 2023 along with the Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India and the Center of Northeast Studies & Policy Research. The consortium intends to promote women’s autonomy over their health seeking behaviours, enabling self-care and facilitating access to quality maternal health services across the pregnancy-postpartum continuum. With our product askNivi, we designed a solution to equip pregnant women in the state of Assam with essential information about maternal health, and give access to private and public sector health providers. We’re helping make the connections between care-seekers and care-providers to strengthen a safe, respectful and informed maternal health journey, thereby reducing risk of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in a state with one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the country.

MH content on askNivi India

Through the utilisation of cutting-edge chatbot technology, Nivi will facilitate regular engagement with select healthcare providers, providing crucial education, and feedback mechanisms to ensure the highest standards of care are met.

• The initial launch of the MH Journey in Assam spans 30 weeks of content, beginning at the 12th week of pregnancy. When a patient first enters the chat, askNivi collects key information, such as her due date and location, to provide a personalised experience and connect her to health facilities in her area. askNivi provides her with the information she needs to stay on track with her antenatal care, such as scheduled reminders for when to get a checkup and recommended clinical services at key points in her pregnancy. askNivi follows up with the patient after antenatal checkups to survey her experience with healthcare providers.

• Between antenatal checkup reminders and follow ups, askNivi continues to send pregnancy tips every week, and as her due date nears, askNivi begins to notify the patient about labor signs and how to prepare for an institutional delivery. 

• The postpartum segment of the MH Journey, which will be deployed by the end of Q2, will continue to assist the patient with postpartum clinic visits, vaccination reminders, and neonatal care tips, like breastfeeding.

Delivering tailored solutions is what helps us achieve intended outcomes!

During the content development process, we worked closely with medical experts to ensure the content we delivered was clinically accurate and comprehensive, from pregnancy to postpartum. We also worked with community partners to build a content experience with high cultural relevance to our target audience and address common concerns during pregnancy. 

How are we getting pregnant women onboard the MH journey in Assam?

• We have collaborated with five prominent healthcare providers in Assam to onboard expecting mothers on site. The innovative use of QR codes will enable easy access to the AskNivi WhatsApp chatbot, which will serve as a platform for ongoing support and guidance throughout the antenatal care journey.

• We are also using social media to find pregnant women in Assam by running ads on Facebook and Instagram offering support. The messaging is in Assamese language to ensure we capture the right audience and design of the ad campaigns is intended to show women that askNivi can give them help during their pregnancy. The call to action asks them to chat with askNivi to get a personalised pregnancy guide, for example - “Pregnancy can be heavy, let askNivi support you - Click to chat with askNivi” & “Protect the precious life growing inside you - Get a personalised pregnancy guide”. You are welcome to scan the QR code from the below image to try out our India Maternal Health journey in English, we’d love to hear comments/feedback from you.

  

HPV Journey on askNivi Kenya

It’s been a while we spoke about this one! In 2019, we reported that Kenyans are looking for actionable information on cervical cancer without being exposed to any marketing!
Our analysis indicated a large unmet demand for actionable information & resources and we knew what we had to do next! Along with Pathfinder, the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the STOP Cervical Cancer Initiative, and local stakeholders, including county governments, community health volunteers, and peer educators, we deployed the HPV related content on askNivi platform to build awareness of cervical cancer, prevent infections, and increase screenings and treatments as a pilot.

A brand new HPV Journey is live in Kenya!

Fast forward to 2023, we're working with Ninety to understand the demand for insurance products that will provide Kenyans with access to preventive health services and protection from unexpected medical bills. We designed a comprehensive survey about respondents’ current insurance plan, coverage priorities, and their top health concerns. The survey also assesses respondents' interest in different types of insurance products that provide varying levels of coverage for the prevention and treatment of HPV and HPV-related cancers.

How are we acquiring users to respond to the survey?

• Our user base in Kenya is active and interactive! We will be reaching out to existing users of age 27+ in our database to take the Ninety survey.

• We are also running ads on social media. The message is attention grabbing - Insurance for 100 Shillings! We are then asking users to take the survey in order to help Ninety make 100 shilling insurance products a reality.

• For both strategies, we are adding incentives to encourage survey completion. Every user who completes a survey will enter a drawing to win 1 of 3 KES 4,000 cash prizes.

Malaria Journey on askNivi Nigeria

Guess what? Today is World Malaria Day! And like all other World [insert disease here] days, its purpose is to raise awareness so that more people know when and how to seek help for themselves and their loved ones. Because knowledge can save lives, and it’s much needed considering the extent of damage malaria causes to the society at large. According to the latest WHO World malaria report, there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2021 compared to 245 million cases in 2020. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 619,000 in 2021 compared to 625,000 in 2020.

As per WHO Malaria fact sheets, over the 2 peak years of the pandemic (2020–2021), COVID-related disruptions led to about 13 million more malaria cases and 63,000 more malaria deaths. The WHO African Region continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2021 the Region was home to about 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of deaths. Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the Region. Four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.3%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6%), United Republic of Tanzania (4.1%) and Niger (3.9%). And that’s why, we at Nivi continue to serve the Nigerian population with free information, awareness & resources to fight against malaria.

The Malaria Journey on askNivi Nigeria chatbot is designed to educate the users about what they can do to prevent malaria, how to recognise signs & symptoms, and the importance of getting tested *before* seeking treatment. 

Malaria content on askNivi Nigeria

The malaria content offerings are presented in a menu format, allowing users to choose where they would like to begin their educational journey. But, the journey also features the malaria quiz; an educational tool that assesses the user’s current knowledge about malaria transmission, prevention, and treatment. Questions are followed by feedback and detailed explanations, creating a targeted learning opportunity for users and also generating insights into local attitudes and beliefs which help us continue to adapt to changing dynamics and improvise our approach to help Nigerian people tackle the challenge malaria presents. 

User acquisition for Malaria content

We ran ads on Facebook and Instagram raising awareness on the ‘deadliness’ of malaria, we shared shocking statistics and highlighted some important facts that people need to know about malaria and gave a call to action to learn more about malaria.

• We’ve partnered with Love Matters India to raise awareness of SRH issues, and offer services and access to products to their users. Love Matters is a rights based, fact based, pleasure positive, affordable, digital and bilingual SRH information platform catered to the needs of young people in India. It provides open, honest, non-judgmental and science-based information on love, sex and relationships using innovative media formats. Love Matters India operates at the intersection between media and public health, specialising in media for social change. Harnessing the power of technology, popular culture, design thinking and storytelling, LoveMatters seeks to bridge the gap between young people, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) organisations and experts and service providers.
  

• In other news, we sourced 180% of required responses within 3 days for a survey in Hausa, Nigeria. Curious to know how?

  We created an ad in Hausa and targeted this to Hausa speaking states (mostly in the north). The ad messaging was short and clear - Give me 10 minutes of your time and I will give you 500 Naira worth of airtime. Our goal was to get 1000 responses in Hausa to a survey we were running on behalf of digital frontiers. The result? 1800 started the survey, 1000 completed the survey. We spent $272.25 on the ads and $1883 on the incentives giving us a cost of $0.75 per completed survey. Tested motivational strategies save the day!

Nivi is scaling!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve expanded our operations in India and are now a 3 member team in the Indian subcontinent! 

India has always been a country with immense potential and a burgeoning market, and we strongly believe that this is the right time for us to double down on our efforts and establish a stronger presence in the region. 

Our decision to invest is driven by our unwavering desire to help Indians achieve their health aspirations, while equipping them with the right information, services and facilities.
With a growing user-base we are building products, insights and models to support healthcare organisations understand demands, behaviours and attitudes and bridge the gap between unmet needs and healthcare products and services. 

Visit our ‘About us - Team’ page to know more about our team members!