SBC101 Case
THE INADEQUATE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION FOR YOUNGSTERS IN VIET NAM AND A NEW INTEGRATED SOLUTION
Ly Minh Anh, Memorii
Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, Memorii
To Ngoc Hung, Memorii
TABLE OF CONTENT
2.1. Contribution to UN goals 2
2.4. Current solution landscape 3
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INTRODUCTION
Imagine a world where every person has access to safe and effective reproductive healthcare. Today, we have the opportunity to make that vision a reality with our project “Memorii”. A project which accompanies the Vietnamese young generation in normalizing prejudices related to sexualize and reproductive health. The project was founded in response to the alarming rates of young people who encounter issues related to reproductive health, contributing to declines in physical and mental health, limiting educational and life opportunities, placing a burden on healthcare costs, and stifling the development of the next generation, these factors have a significant negative impact.
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SOCIAL BUSINESS IDEA
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Contribution to UN goals
Approaching the UN Goals, Memorii directly solves Goal 3.7 of SDG 3, increasing the possibility for people to get access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services by providing information, education, etc. Moreover, we aim at taking care of males and females when they are still in the young age range. Through the effort, we also have a dedication to indirectly solve Goal 3.3.1 of SDG 3, reducing the number of new HIV infections.
Memorii provides tools for young people of both genders to approach detailed information and adequate education about reproductive health and from that allows them to make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care, which aligns with Goal 5.6 of SDG 5.
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Target social issues
Contraceptive: A significant number of women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) want to avoid pregnancy, particularly young women. However, access to reliable birth control remains a challenge. This unmet need is especially high among adolescents (43%) compared to the overall need for all women (24%).
Adolescents: HIV challenge: Despite efforts, hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents in LMICs acquire HIV each year.
Related Disease: Despite being preventable through HPV vaccination, cervical cancer remains a major public health threat in Vietnam, ranking as the sixth most common cancer among women, with nearly 4,200 new cases and 2,420 deaths in 2018.
Knowledge: In Vietnam, according to the most recent National Survey on Reproductive/Sexual Health by the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of Health, only 17.4% of adolescents and young adults Teens correctly understand when a woman can get pregnant and 25.9% know how to use condoms when having sex.
Healthy services: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a lack of quality sexual and reproductive health care has severe consequences. Each year, nearly half of all pregnancies (111 million) are unintended, and many women giving birth (127 million) don’t receive proper care, leading to complications and even death (nearly three hundred thousand). This lack of care extends to treatable infections (133 million) and unmet needs for contraception and treatment of pregnancy complications (16 million).
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Root causes
Memorii thoroughly conducts Primary and Secondary research to verify hypotheses and from initial findings, making it a solid basis to offer solutions that are well adapted to customer wishes and address their needs.
When it comes to secondary research, we get the data from approved and official sources such as UNICEF, WHO, Google Scholar, and the Vietnam Ministry of Public Health. For the primary research, we carried out both in-depth interviews with twenty stakeholders and an online survey with the participation of more than two hundred youngsters.
In the secondary research, the causes may be broken down into the following four factors: family, community, government, and external factors.
The primary research indicates that there is one root cause stemming from family factors, one root cause stemming from psychological factors, and one root cause stemming from community factors. In general, Subjective norms affect their behaviour and psychology related to reproductive health, which means the main influencing factor is the community culture that affects them and the people around them. Moreover, we also found out that 77.3% of participants said that they were concerned about their reproductive health. However, about 63.1% of participants hardly ever have a gynaecological/ andrological examination.
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Current solution landscape
While some existing solutions may be technically sound, they often lack a human connection or rely on methods that aren’t effective. Memorii aims to bridge this gap by addressing consumer needs that current market offerings haven’t fully met. To identify these weaknesses, Memorii employed the Impact Gaps Canvas to analyze our competitors’ shortcomings. Adolescents and young people in Vietnam clearly face challenges in accessing information and education on sexual and reproductive health. Additionally, users prefer apps that are convenient, integrating both learning and entertainment, while maintaining user-friendliness.
Figure 1: Impact gap mapping
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Solution to implement
Memorii, encompassing the MeFi App, Online Gallery, and Workshop, was born from a desire to address contemporary challenges and fulfil the unmet needs of clients in the realm of reproductive health. It functions as a model for societal advancement by offering a comprehensive solution through these integrated tools.
The MeFi application is designed mainly for young people aged 17-21 (seventeen to twenty-one) who are looking for a “friend” to accompany and share “secret and sensitive” stories with throughout their most beautiful lifetime. With the integration of diverse features, Memorii wants to become the most reliable soulmate of users. The Memorii Project is characterized as a Social Constructionist model and aims to solve urgent problems based on three solutions: An online gallery, a Workshop, and our application “MeFi”. Mefi was created with the main purpose of satisfying the reproductive health questions/problems of clients. To achieve that, Memorii will hold some free workshops to address the emergency and significance of reproductive health and assist in answering the queries related to that issue. Not only that, The online competition about the topic “reproductive health” will be organized on fanpage and the competitors’ work will be placed in the online gallery
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Solution uniqueness
Memorii’s app, MeFi, aims to offer a more holistic and long-lasting approach to reproductive health. This is achieved by building a social support network that benefits both genders. Despite the presence of several market players providing services for mothers and newborns, competitor studies have established MeFi as the leading firm in two areas: unique functions and user interaction. By adding functions that differ from those in other market apps, Memorii has gained a higher position in terms of unique functions. For user interaction, MeFi excels through its Social Community features, ensuring the greatest levels of engagement.
Figure 2: Positioning map
Memorii distinguishes itself from competitors through three key features. Firstly, by fostering a supportive environment, the Memorii Community empowers users to pose anonymous questions and glean insights from both the collective wisdom of the community and the expertise of healthcare professionals. Secondly, it prioritizes user engagement by offering unique content like comic series, text stories, and relatable narratives around reproductive health. Finally, Memorii transcends traditional gender-specific app design by offering bespoke interfaces and functionalities tailored to the unique needs of all users, regardless of gender identity.
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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Memorii is committed to continuing to research and develop innovative solutions to improve the effectiveness of the app, aiming to nurture reproductive health, minimize issues related to it, and improve society’s health and well-being. Currently, Memorii is in the very first steps to forming a social business through proactively approaching stakeholders, preparing for crowd-funding, etc. We have outlined five strategic next steps to be implemented from the second quarter of 2023, ensuring our continuous growth and improvement. With the Memorii app scheduled to launch in 2024, we are eager to make a positive impact on youngsters’ lives and well-being. Together with Memorii, join us in the journey of “Respect and cherish yourself”.
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REFERENCES
Ministry of Health (2020) Tăng cường chăm sóc sức khỏe sinh sản, sức khỏe tình dục cho vị thành niên, thanh niên. Available at: https://moh.gov.vn/chuong-trinh-muc-tieu-quoc-gia/-/asset_publisher/7ng11fEWgASC/content/tang-cuong-cham-soc-suc-khoe-sinh-san-suc-khoe-tinh-duc-cho-vi-thanh-nien-thanh-nien.
UNFPA Vietnam (2023) It’s high time to invest in scaling up HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment services nationwide. Available at: https://vietnam.unfpa.org/en/news/its-high-time-invest-scaling-hpv-vaccination-screening-and-treatment-services-nationwide?fbclid=IwAR15knAQ0vizQAFoCGse5tOclYKyG-TViCj8nyxv_wVN74SX0r0F1LVK9hw.
Guttmacher (2020) Investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Available at: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/investing-sexual-and-reproductive-health-low-and-middle-income-countries.
Guttmacher (2020) Investing in Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Available at: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/adding-it-up-investing-in-sexual-reproductive-health-adolescents.