MURYAR MATASSA – Niger

VOICE OF THE YOUTH

(Niger)

Civic, health & education digital platform

Muryar Matassa – which means “Voice of Youth” in Hausa, is a web and app platform, created by a group of young Nigeriens aged between 22-25, passionate about ICTs and how they can use their skill to mitigate the ravages of COVID-19 in their communities, by sharing information and ideas.

How did you start your journey?

Our journey started when we participated in a Hackathon “Hack4Youth” that brought together over 50 young Nigeriens who had ideas on digital solutions to engage and amplify youth voices for impact in decision making. We emerged as the the winning team.

What has been the impact of your product/service?

Muryar Matassa is a platform where young people share their stories, as well as get informed information about COVID-19. We partnered with the National Youth Council and together we are reaching out to hundreds of youth, through interpersonal discussions, as well as via social media.

Young people represent almost two-thirds of Niger’s population and if at least one young person per village will be engaged in fighting COVID-19, some 20,000 youth will spread the word about protection measures and symptoms and at the same time report alert cases to the health system.

What are the challenges to producing or deploying your product/service?

The challenges we are facing are mostly technical and lack of human resources, as demand grows. We need a full-time team of young people with better experience in the ICT.