Nigeria tops UNICEF’s SMS-based U-Report platform

NIGERIA yesterday became the first country to reach one million responders on the United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) SMS-based U-Report platform designed to strengthen community-led development and citizen engagement.

According to a press statement from UNICEF, the SMS-based U-Report platform is a user-centred social monitoring tool based on simple Short Message Service (SMS) messages, polling opinions on issues that affect communities and sharing useful information. It relies on volunteer community members, mostly young people, serving as U-Reporters to provide information on issues that affect their communities.

Director of Global Innovations at UNICEF, Dr. Sharad Sapra, said: “Nigeria hit the one million U-Reporter mark. It is heartening to see a million young people in Nigeria becoming agents of change for their community and nation. These young people and the many more who join them every day are becoming the pillars for sustainable social development in Nigeria.”

Also, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Jean Gough, said: “Nigeria hitting the one million mark on the U-Report platform is a huge step in stakeholders’ engagement, connecting leaders with their communities to improve their standard of living. U-Report can significantly contribute to transparency, accountability and social justice in Nigeria.

“To become a U-Reporter in Nigeria, text the word ‘JOIN’ to 24453 and voice your opinion. It is free.

“To access U-Report information, see http://www.nigeria.ureport.in. The website shows U-Reporter responses across Nigeria to nearly 70 polls. Questions on a wide range of topics continue to be asked to U-Reporters every week, providing a deep source of real-time information on the views and opinions of Nigerians.”