MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Safe Delivery Foundation

One-line solution summary:

The Safe Delivery Foundation solution seeks to reduce mortality during pregnancy and labor, and after child birth

Pitch your solution.

One major problem dragging Ghana’s progress in achieving it's safe motherhood and infant survival goal, is the difficulty in delivering quality and affordable prenatal and neonatal services to expectant and new mothers in remote areas. Reaching the masses (prenatal and postnatal care recipients) by face-to-face consultation is ideal. However, resource (healthcare workers and facilities) constraints in rural Ghana does not make this possible. Thus the need for alternatives. A viable alternative is the Safe Delivery Foundation's solution. This solution incorporates a voice messaging tool together with pulse and temperature monitoring tools in a mobile phone application to promote save delivery in rural settings. The voice message feature is to take care of language barriers challenges while the temperature and pulse monitoring tools is incorporated to assist traditional birth attendants to discharge their duties safely. This solution thus has the potential of saving the lives of millions globally.

What specific problem are you solving?

The proposed solution seeks to solve/alleviate the problem of maternal and neonatal mortality in rural Ghana. Available literature shows that, Ghana has a maternal mortality ratio of 128 deaths per 100,000 live births and neonatal mortality ratio of 24 deaths per 1,000 live births. Globally, maternal mortality ratio is put at 211 deaths per 100,000 live births and neonatal mortality ration put at 18 deaths per 1,000 live births. This situation is not acceptable because all lives matter. In Ghana resource (Healthcare workers and facilities) constraints aggravates this problem. Thus an economical and effective solution is welcoming.

What is your solution?

We present the Safe Delivery Foundation application to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in rural Ghana. This software application will make possible periodic voice messaging to target recipients to remind and provide information/education to them based on the stage of pregnancy or postnatal care they are in. Subscribers will also be able to send voice messages to designated health givers for assistance. This application will also have a tool to trigger alarming messages to trained midwives/gynecologists to assist traditional birth attendants who will need help. That is, based on the temperature and or pulse reading of a woman in labor, an automatic message is triggered to a midwife/gynecologists for assistance. Ambulance services will also be linked to this application. Automatic messaging is recommended for this application because most traditional birth attendants are unable to read nor write. Voice messages will be in local dialects and in English. All stakeholders concerned will be trained on how to appropriately use this application. With this intervention in place, we believe maternal and newborn mortality in rural areas should be reduced drastically.

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

This solution will directly benefit pregnant women and their newborns living in rural Ghana. About 44% of the population of Ghana live in rural communities with limited access to quality healthcare. This limited healthcare situation puts pregnant women and their newborns at a greater risk of dying before, during and after birth. Interactions with some women in these communities showed that, most of them live in fear when approaching the ninth month of their pregnancy because of how others have died during labor or loosing their children after birth. To these women, the provision of solutions like Safe Delivery Foundation's solution is reassuring and highly welcomed. It is believed that, this solution will directly impact the quality (physical and emotional health) of women's lives and their newborns

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.

The fewer number of healthcare workers and facilities in rural Ghana increases the incidence of maternal and newborn mortality. To solve/alleviate this, we present the Safe Delivery Foundation solution to reduce the risk of pregnant women and newborns to death. This solution’s potential to increase pregnant women and newborns access to healthcare puts it in tandem with the CHALLENGE and the selected dimension on expanding access to high-quality, affordable care for women, new mothers, and newborns.

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

Tamale, Ghana

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Yakubu Fatimata