Maternal Mobile Health

My solution solves delay problem which denies antenatal and postnatal mothers from timely accessing hospital care leading to high maternal death rate in Mzimba South District and Malawi as a whole.Problem originate from community failure to decide on time to take sick maternal mothers to nearest hospital for quality care.

Solution proposed is community awareness on maternal health issues through sending educative maternal health mobile phone messages to key community and family decision makers like traditional leaders,husbands,uncles including antenatal and postnatal mothers into their individual mobile phones.These messages will be powered by two largest mobile phones network providers in Malawi.

Because factors contributing to high maternal deaths in Malawi are similar as to other poor and low resource setting countries with same maternal health challenge,this project if scaled globally will positively change lives in reducing maternal deaths thus improving community,national health and economic status.

The root causes of this delay problem which leads to high maternal deaths in Mzimba South District and Malawi as a whole are: community ignorance on maternal health danger signs,harmful social cultural practices,gender inequalities and traditional beliefs.

High maternal death rate is big problem in Malawi and globally as a whole.Malawi rate of 439 deaths per 100,000 live births is alarming.Malawi ranks among top 15 countries globally with poorest maternal health service delivery.In Sub Sahara Africa,Malawi has one of the highest rates.Mzimba South District where I work the rate is 122 per 100,000 live births.This is one of highest in Malawi.
Globally, in 2017 rate was 211 deaths per 100,000 live births and 94% of these occurred in low resource setting countries.Sub Sahara Africa and South Asia alone accounted for 86% of these deaths.In Malawi,community delay problem alone contributes 33% of maternal deaths.

This solution is community awareness on maternal health issues so as to address major community factors of  ignorance on maternal health danger signs, gender inequalities,harmful social cultural practices and traditional beliefs which prevents maternal mothers from timely accessing hospital care leading to high maternal deaths.

A mobile phone will be used as a solution to this challenge.The main activity of this solution is sending well designed,informative and educative maternal health messages to targeted communities.The messages will be sent to these targeted  individuals mobile phones using the already inbuilt phone messaging application via the already available reliable mobile phone networks in targeted areas.Two mobile phone network providers will be contracted.
Key solution processes include:
1. Solution introductory meetings with District Health Office, local assembly and key community decision makers
2. Solution orientation of community health surveillance assistants
3. Review of designed key maternal health informative and educative messages. 
4. Determining size of the initial targeted areas for the solution 
5. Determine number of targeted population to be messaged
6. Using Ministry Of Health Community Health Surveillance Assistants, register phone numbers of selected targeted population in the communities and maternal mothers at antenatal and postnatal clinics
7. Determining the bulk,frequency,timing and cost of the phone messaging 
8. Developing contractual business agreement with selected mobile phone network providers
9. Effective monitoring and evaluation of the solution impact 

The direct target population for this solution are antenatal and six weeks postnatal mothers.Since there are other community factors i.e. social cultural,gender inequality,traditional beliefs and lack of maternal health danger signs knowledge which contribute to high maternal deaths, other key community players  will  be targeted.These are key family and community  decision makers like traditional leaders,uncles and husbands.
During this solution development, engagement with target population to understand their side of story on why maternal deaths are unacceptably high were made through discussions with key community members.Through these discussions mutual recommendations with communities on the challenge been reached.As of now through communities field visits facilitated health talks on maternal health at health facilities.Again the determining of the number of households with mobile phones and availability of individuals within households able to read been done together with these communities 

This solution will get rid of community maternal health knowledge gaps and modify harmful social-cultural factors which contributes to high maternal deaths.Consequently all maternal mothers will timely access quality hospital care thus reducing maternal deaths which in turn is beneficial to individual,community and national poverty reduction and economic growth.
  

High maternal  death rate is challenge in our communities, because one main contributing factor, relates to family and community poor decision making and delays in timely taking maternal mothers to hospital for quality care.This problem originate from community key decision makers ignorance on maternal health danger signs coupled with other social-cultural and gender factors.Therefore the solution of community awareness on these maternal health issues through mobile phone messaging to key decision makers at family and community levels will result into communities timely taking their maternal mothers to hospital for quality care thus reducing maternal deaths.
Where is your solution team