MAMA

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals was to reduce the under-five child mortality rate by two thirds by 2015. In an unveiling speech for MAMA Alliance made by Hillary Clinton, she noted that every year nearly 360,000 women worldwide fail to survive childbirth, and 4 million babies die during childbirth or the 4 weeks following. Most of these deaths could be prevented if pregnant and new mothers received proper information on how to care for themselves and their baby.

MAMA, also known as Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action, addresses this challenge by using technology mothers’ already own – mobile phones – and providing informative text messages that have the power to prevent countless deaths, free of charge. MAMA provides these vital messages to mothers in low-income families, who live in countries with elevated maternal and infant mortality rates, such as India, Bangladesh and South Africa.

MAMA provides two types of messages: core messages and topic-based messages. The core messages are arranged by “age and stage” to cover weeks 5 to 42 of pregnancy, and the first year of the baby’s life. These messages include antenatal care, nutrition, vaccination, and family planning. The, second type, topic-based messages are more specific and addresses issues like how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Mobile health has the potential to reach anywhere in the world, including the hardest-to-reach poor mothers. Not only that, but mobile health messages are portable, accessible 24/7, discreet for those who might be afraid to ask, and can be saved or shared. This simple and easy method can provide information, dispel myths, highlight warning signs and connect pregnant women and new moms with local health services.

MAMA is a great example of how mobile health can help improve lives and is a step forward into a healthier, educated and more accessible future.