OutSystems helps Nelson Mandela University improve cancer awareness in rural South African communities

OutSystems has announced its partnership with the Centre for Community Technologies (CCT) at Nelson Mandela University to develop the C-VIVE mobile app, which addresses the challenges around cancer awareness and diagnosis in rural South Africa.

CCT helps disadvantaged communities by promoting policy interventions and providing affordable technologies to support social and economic empowerment in poor communities. In the Eastern Cape, lack of awareness and understanding of cancer, including the treatment and its physical and emotional side effects, has led to the stigmatisation of, and created challenges in, accessing medical advice and treatment.

Understanding the obstacles and realising the prevalence of certain types of cancer in the area, the CCT developed a mobile app that raises community awareness, helps citizens recognise symptoms, and encourages earlier intervention. Built in partnership with NTT Data and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), the C-VIVE mobile app was developed as part of OutSystems 2021 Build for the Future hackathon. The app provides easy access to essential information on lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, cancer symptoms, treatment, and risks, in addition to telephone numbers for support and assistance.



C-VIVE is a culturally inclusive and intuitive app, and the design provides:

Easy-to-understand and accessible content, from neutral colors to animations that reduce the need for long explanatory texts, and text-to-speech audio support.

A fully functioning offline mode, ensuring that a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection isn’t a prerequisite for usage.

Gamification features to increase user engagement, providing users with progress updates through the content they have mastered.

Support for multiple languages to maximize inclusion, including Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans, and English.

“When we initially set out to develop the app, we knew what the challenges were that we wanted to tackle, and only needed the blue-sky thinking and technology to turn it into reality. That is one of the benefits of the OutSystems low-code platform, there is no limit in what you can do compared to traditional development tools,” said Professor Darelle van Greunen. “What was created was an accessible, attractive, easy to use app that won the Hackathon’s UX award. Since then, C-VIVE has received a positive community response. It continues to be important to help destigmatize cancer in rural South Africa, raise awareness and encourage earlier intervention, and providing information in an intriguing, non threatening manner is essential on that journey.”

CCT at Nelson Mandela University initially began with three employees and has since expanded to 28 full-time employees, including six developers. The self-funded center is currently adapting the platform for iOS, initially having only been developed for Android devices. In addition to exploring the development of a web application, CCT is adding new languages to its catalogue of different cancer types to continue sharing vital information that reaches more individuals. Learn more on how Nelson Mandela University and OutSystems are increasing cancer awareness in South African communities.