“The most frequent words young people mention are ‘worried’ or ‘stressed’”
Dr Yadanar is UNFPA Myanmar’s Adolescents and Youth Programme Analyst. She helps shape content and messaging for the smartphone apps "Love Question Life Answer" (LQLA) and "Baykin". These platforms were adapted to the pandemic to incorporate COVID-19 prevention and response information together with sexual and reproductive health and mental health services to help young people cope with lockdown-related stresses.
Dr Yadanar says it took a long time to build the “Love Question Life Answer” App because of the sensitivity of the subject matter.
“It took quite a while for the mobile application to launch,” she says. “Working with the Ministry of Health and Sports and the government in Myanmar, advocating for having all those sensitive topics in the mobile application takes time.”
The “Love Question Life Answer” app was launched in November 2017. since 2018 Dr Yadanar has been leading the data analysis process aimed at improving the content quality and relevancy. When the pandemic started, the ‘Love Question Life Answer’ team was already in direct contact with thousands of young people in Myanmar looking for information on health services.
“When the pandemic hit we conducted crowdsourcing on social media,” she says. “We were asking young people about their worries and other challenges faced during COVID-19.”
With a network of engaged young people already connected via the LQLA app, the team was able to share important health information targeted for young people.
“We began sending push notifications to young people. The messages were on COVID-19 but related to sexual and reproductive health and mental health and psychosocial support.”
“We decided to use the mobile application and include the push notification function,” she says. “We began sending push notifications to young people. The messages were on COVID-19 but related to sexual and reproductive health and mental health and psychosocial support.”
The notifications and the questions aimed at young people opened up social media discussions where they shared their COVID-19 concerns.
“The most frequent words that young people mentioned are ‘worried’ or ‘stressed,’” she says about data analytics.
Dr. Yadanar says some of the young people lost their jobs and nearly everyone was concerned about uncertain incomes.
“Some of the young people are fresh graduates and looking for jobs,” she says. “While they are looking for the job, COVID-19 happens and then they cannot find one anymore. It is uncertain when they will be able to go out and find a job again.”
Dr. Yadanar highlighted education as another concern because schools are closed with some young people unable to afford private tuition.
“Young people are worried that they might have to spend an extra year for their education because of COVID-19.”
“Some of the universities closed down in the middle of the exams,” she says. “Young people are worried that they might have to spend an extra year for their education because of COVID-19.”
She says these problem combined with lockdown created even more anxiety
“They don't want to go out,” she says. “They do not want anyone in their family to contract the virus. When you combine all that stress, mental health and psychosocial support are really needed for young people.”
“When you combine all that stress, mental health and psychosocial support are really needed for young people.”
When you combine all that stress, mental health and psychosocial support are really needed for young people.”
One of the questions ‘Love Question Life Answer’ asked was: “How are you participating in the COVID-19 response?” She says it was important to hear all the ways young people are taking part.
“It was really satisfying to see that young people, even though they are stressed, are doing something constructive,” she says. “They are participating and responding to COVID-19 in a positive way.”
“It was really satisfying to see that young people, even though they are stressed, are doing something constructive. They are participating and responding to COVID-19 in a positive way.”
Dr. Yadanar says many young people are volunteering at the COVID-19 quarantine centers and some are volunteering within their community in distribution of the relief supplies such as food. She says a common theme among responses collected was the effort to make good use of the time by accessing courses online and trying to learn something new every day.
Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Yadanar and her colleagues have monitored the discussions around ‘Love Question Life Answer’ and they are planning a wave of new content for the coming year. She hopes it can include information about menstrual health and hygiene management, mental health and psychosocial support and more interactive features.
UNFPA also supports an innovation app called “Baykin” that applies augmented reality technology and engaging comic books to share messages about sexuality education. This mobile app model allows UNFPAto generate dynamic content that connects with young people. Dr. Yadanar says the plan is to bring the platforms together so more young people gain greater access to crucial health education that resonates with them.
“We want the government to have the ownership of the app,” she says, “So we look to involve the government as much as we can in the development of new content.”
This positive collaboration with the government has helped advance the visibility on key issues through careful consultation about the content on the platform.
“When we all started developing the content related to sexual orientation and gender identity,” she says, “there was some resistance over that. We included some sensitive subjects such asLGBTQI rights and sexual desire.”
“When we all started developing the content related to sexual orientation and gender identity, there was some resistance over that. We included some sensitive subjects such asLGBTQI rights and sexual desire.”
Through years of partnership with the government, UNFPA and partners built ‘Love Question Life Answer’ as a learning platform for young people to be informed about their bodies and their rights. COVID-19 required everyone to adjust, and UNFPA has demonstrated the value of reactive youth-focused networks; these networks can play a crucial role as part of a holistic pandemic response.
By listening to young people’s voices and offering mental health support during this stressful time, the LQLA app has been a lifeline for some and an enriching online community for others. The stress and disruption caused by COVID-19 will linger even after the vaccine becomes available, so UNFPA will continue to use “Love Question Life Answer”as an important platform to share messages that help young people stay safe.
