BANGALORE: The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has awarded a $500,000 grant to Dimagi, Inc. and its partners, RTI International and St. John’s Research Institute. The grant will support these organizations in their new program in Bangalore to expand the use of a mobile-phone job-aid to help health care workers screen women for domestic violence during visits to health centers where women receive basic services, like ante-natal care. Women who are identified as survivors of violence are then informed of their rights and referred for counseling. The launch of activities coincides with the first day of the international community's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, which runs from 25th November to the 10th of December.

Consul General Jennifer McIntyre said, "Gender-based violence is something that plagues every country in the world. Domestic violence impacts a woman's ability to access resources and services. The United States is happy to provide this USAID grant to Dimagi and its innovative program to help increase domestic violence survivors’ access to information about services and their rights."

Through this grant, Dimagi and its partners will equip health workers with CommCare mobile health technology, which uses a tested method of identifying the clinical signs of violence and empowers health workers to consistently and accurately screen for domestic violence and inform survivors of their rights, choices, and the support services that are available to them. The mobile application will make collecting data on the incidence of domestic violence easier than paper-based data collection, while at the same time ensuring that patient privacy and identity is protected.

The technology was initially piloted by Dimagi and St. John’s Research Institute in partnership with the Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation. Initial results of the pilot show that the mobile application can identify survivors of violence, enhance the quality of care they receive, and generate a greater evidence base that can inform future activities.

Stella Luk, the Dimagi Country Representative in India, welcomed the grant saying "We are thrilled to be able to work with USAID, RTI, and St John’s in bringing mobile technology innovation to support and strengthen the fight against gender-based violence. Now is a key time to bring about change in addressing this issue, and we’re glad to be a part of it."