Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Bridging Women’s Health Knowledge in Hausa (ID: 23759100)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Umabruka
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Bridging Women’s Health Knowledge in Hausa
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-04-15 - 2026-05-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Nigeria
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wiki Loves Women
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. – Wittgenstein (1994)
This project addresses the critical gap in access to reliable, local-language women’s health information for Hausa speakers by increasing the quantity and quality of women’s health articles on Hausa Wikipedia. Many Hausa speakers, especially women with limited English proficiency, lack access to trusted health information in their own language, which contributes to health literacy inequities.
Language barriers are documented as a significant obstacle to accessing and understanding health information. Studies show that when health information is only available in dominant languages like English, it becomes inaccessible to non-English speakers, which reduces their ability to comprehend health content and make informed health decisions. For example, research on multilingual health communication highlights how dominant-language health information often excludes populations who speak other languages, creating inequities in access to knowledge and participation in healthcare decisions. Similarly, research focused on multilingual healthcare settings demonstrates that language barriers between patients and healthcare providers can dramatically reduce understanding of medical explanations and hinder equitable access to care. ( https://artera.io/blog/artera-expands-multilingual-support/)
Moreover, women’s access to online encyclopedic knowledge such as Wikipedia differs by gender, with research showing that women are underrepresented among Wikipedia readers and exhibit different usage patterns compared to men, indicating a broader knowledge gap that can compound disparities in health information access. In addition to gender gaps on Wikipedia itself, communities who do not encounter health content in their native languages are less likely to engage with or benefit from it, this has been observed in studies that shows that women had improved awareness of breast cancer risk factors when information was communicated in indigenous languages, highlighting the importance of local language use for effective health understanding. ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Explaining_the_Wikipedia_reader_gender_gap)
Despite millions of people speaking Hausa across West Africa, local-language health content remains limited in digital spaces including Wikipedia, reflecting broader challenges associated with low-resource languages such as limited computational resources and fewer available language tools for content creation and dissemination. This lack of accessible health information in Hausa not only perpetuates information inequality but also hinders women’s ability to find trusted answers to health questions that directly impact their wellbeing.
To address these challenges, this project will facilitate the translation of key women’s health articles from English to Hausa and support community training in Wikipedia editing and content translation to ensure the long-term growth of reliable, culturally relevant health knowledge in Hausa. By expanding high-quality health content in a widely spoken African language, the project aims to enhance health literacy, reduce misinformation, and promote inclusive access to critical educational resources.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
• Identify and shortlist 50+ priority women’s health articles for translation
- Prepare training materials and editing guides
- Set up the Wikimedia Outreach Dashboard to track contributions
- Project Launch & Awareness Campaign
- Host 2 virtual training workshops covering
- Organize 2 physical edit-a-thon sessions
- Articles review by experience editors
- Compile project metrics
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
1. Rabiat Salihu — Project Lead & Trainer Wikimedia Username: [Umabruka] Rabiat Salihu is an experienced Wikimedia contributor with a sustained focus on content quality, knowledge organization, and capacity building. Over time, she has actively contributed to article development, content translation, and community training initiatives, particularly around structured and reliable knowledge. She is a member, Wikipedia Education User group: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_%26_Education_User_Group/Members, She is also an active member of Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. She was part of the train the trainers for north east Nigeria organized by Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Train_the_Trainers_Nigeria_Program/Gombe. Among the projects she has contributed to are: 1. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Visible_Wiki_Women_Campaign_2025 2. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/AWA_Digitalise_Youth_Project/Muib_Shefiu 3. Wiki Activate Africa (section AI and Plagiarism Awareness Workshop) She was part of the organizers of Wikidata 13th Birthday Celebration in Northern Nigeria. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Wikidata_13th_Birthday_Celebration_in_Northern_Nigeria/Contact_Us She also bring in the knowledge of technical documentation, working on ISA tool
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Translations:Commons:ISA_Tool/Manual/53/ha
2. Wikimedia Mentor & Content Reviewer Wikimedia Username: Muhammad Idriss Criteria Muhammad Idriss Criteria is an experienced Wikimedia contributor and also a member of the Hausa Wikimedians User Group. He has participated in various Wikimedia events/trainings/contests and also facilitated a number of Wikimedia Trainings, and editathon. He will support participants throughout the translation campaign. His responsibilities include reviewing translated articles for quality, ensuring compliance with Wikipedia’s policies (especially medical content guidelines), and providing feedback to new editors. They will also assist in tracking contributions using Wikimedia outreach tools. 3. Umar Faruk — Training Support & Community Coordinator Wikimedia Username: Umar2z Umar will support participant engagement and communication. They will help manage WhatsApp or Telegram groups, remind participants of events, assist during training sessions, and provide first-level support for technical or editing questions. They will also help ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment, especially for new and female editors. 4. Health Advisor Name: Abdulazeez Yunus A graduate of anatomy will serve as an informal advisor to help identify priority women’s health topics and recommend high-quality reference sources (such as WHO or peer-reviewed materials). They will not provide medical advice but will support topic relevance and source awareness.
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
The primary target participants are Hausa-speaking volunteers, with a focus on: 1. Women and young girls 2. University students, especially from health-related fields such as public health, nursing, biology, and education 3. New and emerging Wikimedia contributors interested in language, knowledge sharing, and community development 4. Members of the Hausa-speaking Wikimedia community and individuals interested in improving local-language content
The project aims to engage 25–30 participants, with the goal of ensuring that at least 50% are women, in line with the project’s focus on reducing gender and knowledge gaps.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
Yes
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19EY2fkYNNBjkbbMWMnZa7kXcxEk1-TiO1wBnTzAXfpg/edit?usp=sharing
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
We shared the project idea with members of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria through their Meta-Wiki discussion page to seek input, suggestions, and guidance from the community. Discussion link: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_User_Group_Nigeria#Bridging_Women%E2%80%99s_Health_Knowledge_in_Hausa In addition, we informed the Hausa Wikimedia community via the Hausa Wikipedia community discussion page, where we invited feedback, recommendations, and participation from interested editors. Discussion link: https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Kofan_al%27umma#Lafiyar_mata_a_shafin_Hausa_Wikipedia To ensure broader awareness and participation, links to these on-wiki discussions were also shared in various local Wikimedia community groups on WhatsApp and Telegram, encouraging members to review the proposal idea and contribute their input.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Content Gender gap
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Gender and diversity
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Gender Identity
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Through this project, we aim not only to improve the quality and availability of women’s health content on Hausa Wikipedia, but also to gain deeper insight into how local-language and gender-focused contributions can be effectively grown and sustained. Our reflection and evaluation will explore what motivates Hausa-speaking volunteers, particularly women and students to participate in health-related translation work, as well as the challenges new contributors face when engaging with medical content in Hausa. We will assess the effectiveness of virtual training sessions in building participants’ confidence and skills with the Content Translation tool, and examine whether contributors continue editing independently after receiving initial training and mentorship. In addition, we will analyze content development patterns by identifying which women’s health topics are easier or more difficult to translate, along with common language and terminology challenges encountered. The project will also evaluate retention and community growth by tracking how many new editors remain active after the project and determining what forms of support? Such as mentorship, communication channels, and follow-up activities are most effective in sustaining engagement. Finally, we will examine the impact of topic relevance by assessing whether a focus on women’s health increases participation and how working on socially relevant, locally meaningful topics influences contributors’ sense of purpose and long-term involvement.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 30 | This includes everyone who attends the physical trainings and at least one virtual session. |
| Number of editors | 30 | These are participants who will make at least one edit to Wikipedia during the project. |
| Number of organizers | 4 | The four people listed will give their time and expertise to ensure a successful implementation of the project |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 50 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | 50 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
This project will primarily contribute to Hausa Wikipedia by translating and improving women’s health articles and with Wikimedia Commons, the use of relevant medical images to improve article quality and accessibility. Minor contributions will be made to Wikidata by linking articles and adding Hausa language labels.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
No
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
To measure each of the project metric, we will use the following tools. The number of participants will be tracked using the event registration list and the Wikimedia Outreach Dashboard. The number of editors and the total number of contributions (edits) will be measured through the Wikimedia Outreach Dashboard, which allows us to monitor participant activity and edits throughout the project. The number of organizers will be recorded using a manually maintained project team list. Where additional guidance or technical support is required, we will seek assistance from the Wikimedia community and Outreach Dashboard documentation to ensure accurate tracking and reporting.
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
3320000 NGN
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
2834.14 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).