Several programs use SMS to distribute information. We are in touch with several actors involved in these services:
Manobi (http://www.manobi.sn) is a social enterprise based in Dakar which has been working on SMS applications since 2003.
RapidSMS (http://www.rapidsms.org) is based on Python.
The Jokko Initiative deals with teaching youth and women in Senegalese villages how to use cell phones to (un)subscribe to e-mail-like mailing lists for communicating with a user-defined network of cell-phone-owning friends. This project was at least partially funded by UNICEF Innovation and uses the RapidSMS system.
Mapping of projects that use SMS: Meindmeister