Mobile money for improved maternal health, the African story

Pic:Courtesy of D-Tree

Healthcare in Africa is reaching a whole new dimension with the introduction of  mobile money to health systems. 

Mobile money itself takes many local names by the  countries but be it Mpesa in Kenya,  Airtel Money across Africa or Mpamba in Malawi,  the power of these mobile money services is now being  harnessed to take reproductive health services,  health insurance and  and universal health covereage  to those who needed most, the poor masses of  rural Africa.

Sharing her story at the Africa Regional Meeting on Digital  Health, Erica Layer of D-Tree tells the success of  the lives of women in Zanzibar who have had safe deliveries in medical facilities as opposed to the age-old norm of home delivery which has been a part of life in  Zanzibar until recently.

Through a mobile-money based initiative, D-Tree transfers mobile money into the mobile phones held by community health volunteers who monitor pregnant women, the volunteers through the mobile phones closely link the health centres with the expectant mothers by keeping the health officials informed about the numbers and health status of the pregnant women in their areas in between medical centre visits. At the time of delivery, the community volunteers informs the facilities of the women to expects and when to expect the deliveries and this is done  with the collaboration of a network of taxi drivers who provide the transport  to the hospitals.

Despite its huge success, D-Tree’s mhealth initiatives in Zanzibar  are not without challenges as  Erica layer highlighted difficulties in does forecasting transport needs of the mothers as  a challenge and the need for  a culture of digital reporting and accountability among the community volunteers. She also called for improvement in connectivity and an automated medical record system. Nevertheless, the programme has been hugely successful and will be scaled  out to Tanzania. The  four-day meeting is supported by USAID.