By Kokumo Goodie, Lagos, Nigeria
Airtel Nigeria has partnered with Grameen Foundation and VAS2nets Technologies Ltd to unveil two innovative mobile health services dubbed Mobile Midwife and Dial-a-Doctor in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.
Mobile Midwife is a tailored mobile service designed to provide vital healthcare and nutrition information. The Dial-A-Doctor service, on the other hand, provides real-time help to pregnant women, nursing mothers and mothers with children under five years of age.
The Airtel Mobile Midwife and Dial-A-Doctor services also offer unhindered access to adequate healthcare services and medical advisories to the target group.
The Mobile Midwife service comes in two variants – Pre-natal services and new born/mother services. Both services are aimed at improving antenatal seeking behaviour of pregnant women and access to validated health and nutrition information.
On the other hand, the Dial-a-Doctor service offers subscribers first-hand opportunity to speak to a doctor by dialling 67777. Users are billed N30 per minute when connected to a doctor.
To subscribe and register for the Mobile Midwife pre-natal services, customers are expected to dial 1561. Upon registration, subscribers receive calls from the service, once a week, with information which is tailored to their stage of pregnancy. They can also call in and speak to experienced medical personnel at any time.
For new born/mother services, customers are required to dial 1561 to listen to the voice prompt and register for the service. Upon registration, subscribers will receive information, at frequent intervals, via IVR, throughout the first year of the child’s life.
The Mobile Midwife subscription service is billed at N30 per week. Subscribers are notified every day for the last 2 days before expiration of their subscription. Customers registered for the service can also dial 1561 to speak directly with a doctor at N50 per minute at any time and on any day of the week.
Commenting on the innovative proposition, the Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Maurice Newa, said Airtel is intensely interested in the health and general wellbeing of pregnant women and infants as this is consistent with its corporate vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians.
According to him, Airtel is committed in its quest of touching lives and enriching Nigerians, noting that the company is deeply interested in reducing infant and maternal mortality across the country.
The Mobile Midwife service was made possible by a grant provided by the GSMA Connected Women Programme to Grameen Foundation with technical support provided by VAS2Nets Technologies Ltd.
Claire Sibthorpe, Director of the GSMA Connected Women Programme, said: “The GSMA Connected Women Programme seeks to accelerate the growth of the female digital economy by working with partners to bring significant socio-economic benefits to women consumers and employees. One way this can be achieved is by delivering life-enhancing mobile services for women and the Mobile Midwife service is a great example of this. It will create social impact by providing medically-proven, locally relevant health information to pregnant women and nursing mothers in Nigeria.”
The C.E.O. of VAS2Nets Technologies Ltd, Mr. Ayo Stuffman also emphasizes on the need to prevent majority of death by the intelligence of mobile health care solutions through the recent incredible growth in technology trend. “Getting behavioural change information into the hands of vulnerable women and providing access to medical and emotional advice for men and women can help build the Nigeria we want. Dial-A-Doctor and Mobile Midwife is timely and will help a great deal,” he said.
Mobile Midwife was first developed in Ghana through collaboration between Grameen Foundation and the Ghana Health Service.
“Our experience has shown that providing information to pregnant women and mothers of infants that is tailored to their stage of pregnancy or the child’s development reduces birth complications and improves health outcomes for mother and child. We are pleased to work with Airtel Nigeria and VAS2nets to launch this service in Nigeria,” said Hillary Miller-Wise, Grameen Foundation’s regional CEO for Africa.
According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, Nigeria is classified as one of the 10 countries of the world that contribute about 60 per cent of the world’s maternal mortality burden.
But with the introduction of Airtel mobile health service which provides reliable and up-to-date information for the target group, the telco aims to support the government’s efforts in addressing birth complications, also reducing infant mortality and maternal mortality in Nigeria.
FRENCH VERSION
duction de la mortalité infantile et maternelle à travers le pays.
Le service mobile sage-femme a été rendue possible par une subvention accordée par le Programme des femmes GSMA Connected à la Fondation Grameen avec l’appui technique fourni par VAS2Nets Technologies Ltd
Claire Sibthorpe, Directeur du Programme Femmes GSMA Connected, a déclaré: «Le programme Femmes GSMA Connected vise à accélérer la croissance de l’économie numérique, femelle en travaillant avec des partenaires pour d’importantes retombées socio-économiques pour les femmes les consommateurs et les employés. Une façon d’y parvenir est par la prestation de services mobiles améliorant la vie des femmes et le service de sage-femme Mobile est un excellent exemple de cela. Il créera impact social en fournissant médicalement prouvé, information sur la santé au niveau local pertinent pour les femmes enceintes et les mères allaitantes au Nigeria “.
Le C.E.O. de VAS2Nets Technologies Ltd, M. Ayo Stuffman souligne également la nécessité d’empêcher la majorité de la mort par l’intelligence de solutions de soins de santé mobiles grâce à la récente croissance incroyable tendance de la technologie. “Obtenir des informations sur le changement de comportement dans les mains des femmes vulnérables et l’accès à un avis médical et émotionnel pour les hommes et les femmes peuvent aider à établir le Nigeria que nous voulons. Dial-A-médecin et la sage-femme est mobile en temps opportun et sera d’une grande aide “, at-il dit.
Mobile sage-femme a été d’abord développé au Ghana grâce à la collaboration entre la Fondation Grameen et le Service de santé du Ghana.
«Notre expérience a montré que l’information des femmes enceintes et des mères d’enfants en bas âge qui est adapté à leur stade de la grossesse ou le développement de l’enfant réduit les complications à la naissance et améliore la santé de la mère et de l’enfant. Nous sommes heureux de travailler avec Airtel Nigeria et VAS2nets de lancer ce service au Nigeria “, a déclaré Hillary Miller-Wise, directeur général régional de la Fondation Grameen pour l’Afrique.
Selon un récent rapport de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), le Nigeria est classé comme l’un des 10 pays du monde qui contribuent à environ 60 pour cent de la charge de mortalité maternelle dans le monde.
Mais avec l’introduction du service de santé mobile Airtel qui fournit des informations fiables et à jour pour le groupe cible, la telco vise à soutenir les efforts du gouvernement dans la lutte contre complications à la naissance, en réduisant la mortalité infantile et la mortalité maternelle au Nigeria.
