Grace

When women are able to use digital tools, they use them to bridge gaps in health understanding and to decide when care is needed. In doing so, they rely on their own judgement to assess what feels safe to try, what needs confirmation, and what should only come from a doctor. This highlights a gap in the availability and visibility of trustworthy, medically sound information that women can confidently rely on outside formal care.

How She Uses the Phone 

Grace is 22 and lives in Lagos with her husband and young son. She earns some income selling cosmetics through a small network marketing business, reaching customers through her contacts and online groups. Between her work and caring for her child, she spends a significant amount of time on her phone.

Grace has been comfortable with phones from a young age. As a teenager, she often borrowed her older brother’s phone, using it to browse, message friends, and explore the internet. 

Now, as a young mother, her phone has become central to how she manages her son’s health. Healthcare costs are a constant concern, and she cannot afford to visit a hospital for every issue.  Because of this, she turns to her phone first to understand symptoms, explore possible causes, and decide what needs attention. ​“Before you rush to spend money, you want to know what is happening,” she says. 

When her son was diagnosed with adenoids at the hospital, Grace listened carefully to the doctor but later searched online to understand it more clearly. She read about symptoms, causes, and treatment options, often rephrasing her searches until the explanations made sense. 

She searches to understand what the drug is for and how it works, but does not change the prescription. ​“I just want to be sure,” she says. For prevention and minor issues, Grace is more open to trying what she finds online. On TikTok and other platforms, she watches videos about home-based remedies – ginger mixtures, warm drinks, and simple routines to keep children healthy. When the advice feels familiar and safe, she tries it. But she draws a clear line when it comes to medication. ​“If it is about drugs, I don’t try it,” she says. ​“That one must come from the hospital.”

Decisions about her son’s health are shared between her and her husband. They discuss what they find online and decide together what to try and when to seek care.

Grace spends a lot of time online and is careful not to run out of data. She usually recharges herself, but if needed, she asks her husband to top up for her. Staying connected matters to her, not just for work, but for keeping up with information she feels she needs for her child.

Her Ecosystem of Learning and Facilitation 

Grace is a self-directed and experimental learner. When something is unclear, she searches repeatedly, changing how she asks questions until she finds an answer she understands. She saves useful pages and videos and returns to them when similar issues arise. Over time, she has developed her own sense of which sources to trust. ​“Some people just want views,” she says. ​“You can tell.”

She is also willing to try new digital tools on her own. When she first heard about OPay, she downloaded the app and set it up herself, following the prompts step by step. At first, she was unsure, but by trying it out, she became comfortable using it for basic transactions. ​“If you don’t try, you won’t know,” she says.

At the same time, she knows when to step back. If something technical goes wrong – an app not working, settings changing – she hands the phone to her husband to fix it. ​“I just give it to him,” she says. ​“He will sort it.”