Diz aí Favela

Inspiration

We are touched by how the favela residents are being affected by COVID-19. Favelas are neighborhoods in Brazil with high population density, low income, unreliable water supply and, lacking a proper sanitation system. Favelas are historically neglected by the government and most of the aids planned on crisis don’t apply to their specific environment.

On top of that, Brazil has unreliable data about COVID-19 because of procedural differences between each state and underreporting. The data is collected by health agents and informed to the central government. This data has a high level of aggregation and low specificity. In other words, the information passed doesn’t reflect the complexity of Brazilian neighborhoods and the number of people isolated and that had contact with others infected with the virus is unknown.

Giving voice to people is at the core of the digital transformation. We believe that we can identify at the individual level the favela needs and connect each individual to NGOs and governmental initiatives, empowering them. By doing so, we will open a new channel of communication and collect highly reliable data.

What it does

Collects data from inhabitants about possible infected through official WhatsApp bot - it happens to be the most common communication media in Brazil;
Collects personal data through a web app;
Refines these data using Data Science methods;
Delivers the generated information with indicators to local government - abling better decision-making;
Analyzes the needs for basic consumer goods inside the community;
Connects favela residents with public, private and NGO’s initiatives;
Shares reliable content related to COVID-19 with favela residents using WhatsApp.

Challenges

Offer relevant counterparts to motivate favela residents to share information
Convince the Brazilian government to collaborate
Transform raw data in relevant indicators
Group personal data to map households and areas
Convince internet providers to deliver free internet for residents without access)

What's next for Voz da Favela

In this hackathon, we will develop an MVP of the chatbot, the indicators dashboard, the UX pathway, and the app visualization. Voz da Favela is a solution that can be used for many other applications, once it opens an unprecedented communication channel with favela residents. We believe the data can be used to formulate public policies and the individual level mapping can be used to maximize NGOs ’ and citizen’s initiative’s impacts.