Rwanda: ‘Mbaza’ GBV information platform reaches 100,000 visitors

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More than 100,000 individuals had contacted the ‘Mbaza’ USSD GBV Information Chatbot by Monday evening and used its services over 500,000 times.

This innovative tool, a partnership between HDI-Rwanda and GIZ-Rwanda, is available via *350# and provides crucial information, such as legal aid resources, and serves as an additional resource in the fight against gender-based violence.

Christiane Adamczyk, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (P-SGBV) Project Manager at GIZ-Rwanda, says the information chatbot has been in development for a year and a half and is still evolving.

“We have been working on this chatbot for over a year and a half. We are here after a long and creative process. This would not have been possible without the support of our colleagues from Project for Digital Solutions for Sustainable Development at GIZ. And of course, none of this would have been possible without our colleagues at HDI-Rwanda,” she said.

Impact and reach

HDI-Rwanda Deputy Executive Director Louange Twahirwa Gutabarwa says the ‘Mbaza’ GBV Information USSD Chatbot is an easy-to-use resource available to anyone with a basic mobile phone.

Gutabarwa explained that the chatbot provides anonymous access to important information and support, ensuring user safety and privacy without the need for an internet connection.

“What we’re trying to do is basically deploy broadly accessible technology to reach and support a wide variety of people, including those in remote or underserved areas where access to accurate information may be limited,” she explains.

She explained that as technology has become increasingly important in everyday life, perpetrators of gender-based violence have found new ways to exert control and inflict harm, leading to the rise of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).

“The changing landscape of GBV highlights the need for comprehensive strategies that address both conventional and modern manifestations of violence. I am pleased that one of our solutions to combat misinformation is also technology-based,” she said.

Gutabarwa said that while the ‘Mbaza’ USSD GBV Information Chatbot is an important step forward, it is only one part of both organisations’ comprehensive approach to eradicating gender-based violence.

She pointed out that the organizations continue to work together to conduct educational campaigns through social media, radio programs, influencer engagement and workshops that provide training to local and religious leaders, opinion makers and community members to recognize and respond effectively to GBV.