MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Medland Underprivilged Moms MUM Care App

One-line solution summary:

MUM Care App provides a day to day care solution to expected women for a better moms and neonates health management.

Pitch your solution.

Zambia is a society with high levels of poverty in which children and women face many health risks. For children, these include HIV, malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. Neonatal mortality rates remained almost stagnant at 24 deaths per every 1,000 births. Inadequate infrastructure and services are key factors hindering stronger progress for women and children. Despite improvements, neonatal and maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high for a low-middle income country.

MUM Care Hub provides a centralised care with daily follow-ups on the pregnant women health status. The mobile application allows an instant update of the pregnancy course. The solar powered container is a data collection unit as well as an interim clinic allowing access to primary care.

The network of hubs will not only facilitate a better management of pregnancies (mainly potential arising complications) but can also be used as a socio-economic enhancer.

What specific problem are you solving?

Over six hundred maternal deaths were reported in Zambia in 2018, of which the primary causes were obstetric hemorrhage and indirect causes. Most maternal deaths are preventable. Obstetric hemorrhages are often observed in regions with poor access to health services and can be exacerbated by comorbidities such as anemia, malnutrition, and malaria. Risk factors for obstetric hemorrhage include multiple pregnancies, being over 30 years of age, anemia, abnormal placental attachment, and prior caesarean section. The indirect causes of maternal death consisted of anemia, malaria, HIV related complications, cancers, and cardiac disease. Most maternal deaths can be avoided by addressing inadequacies in antenatal care (ANC), delays in treatment, and lack of emergency obstetric care during the delivery. Data from the MPDSR for 2018 revealed that 25% of pregnant women attended their first ANC visit during the first trimester, 27% in the second trimester, and 29% in the third trimester. Suggesting that while pregnant women are receiving ANC, many are beginning care at a late stage in their pregnancies. Furthermore, an assessment of ANC care indicated that nearly 70% of women who sought ANC in Zambia received suboptimal services.

What is your solution?

MUM Care App aims to improve maternal health using mobile technologies. This application will help pregnant women in underserved areas within Zambia have safe pregnancies by combatting the lack of access and knowledge that leads to high mother and infant deaths in the country. The application will use a customized SMS notification and voice education platform that mothers can register for to receive advice about their health, including checkup information as well as alerts for child vaccinations. There is a one-off subscription fee. Moreover, 8 satellite clinics will be installed in eight provinces that lack adequate medical facilities including: Western, Southern, Central, Northwestern, Northern, Luapula, Muchinga, Eastern Provinces. The satellite clinics will be staffed with midwives and have access to teleconsultations with OBGYN consultants. The satellite clinics are mobile and will be able to move around the provinces offering ANC services as well as under 5 clinics for vaccinations to women and children. As it is very costly and far for most women to travel to a clinic, by having mobile satellite clinics a mother and child will be able to have accessible services and receive notification via the MUM Care App of upcoming clinics.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Mobile connectivity has become a driving force for greater inclusion. By using the expansion of advanced mobile infrastructure in Zambia and the growing adoption of smart devices we can deliver better health solutions that directly respond to people’s primary needs. MUM Care App aims to reach over 150,000 pregnant women and mothers in rural and urban communities in Zambia and increase the rate of antenatal care by at least 80% and child vaccination by 90%. Successful similar projects have been launched in other African countries including Kenya and Cameroon successfully. MUM Care App will be able to provide the expecting mothers with access to high quality antenatal services in rural areas.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Expand access to high-quality, affordable care for women, new mothers, and newborns

Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

Most maternal deaths are avoided by addressing inadequacies in antenatal care, delays in treatment, and lack of emergency care during the delivery. Our target population is expected mothers, of which all can have access to the MUM Care App to receive guidance on quality ANC services. Eight provinces will have access to mobile ANC services given that in these provinces ANC services are either inadequate or mothers do not have the means to access the service. Our aim in to improve ANC compliance as well as offer accessibility to quality services to expected mothers and decrease the number of deaths.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Lusaka, Zambia

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Dr. Mohamed El Sahili