App to promote safe Motherhood for migrant Women

Free mobile phone application accessible for migrant pregnant women who and women traveling with infants and young children to provide them with information about the basic health, public Mexican health system  and services provided by NGOs available for maternal health care, delivery, support to breastfeeding and emergency services along the main migration routes between the southern and northern borders of Mexico, as well as instructions to facilitate the use of services as well as information on women's rights migrants.Women will anonimously be able to communicate to to inquire for more information, provide information about their chcaracteristics and conditions. 

3% of the women who migrate throughout the Mexican territory are pregnant and 6% travel with children under two years of age. Maternal risks are multiplied, not only by the precariousness of the conditions of their trip, but also by their lack of familiarity and information about available health services and how to have access to them. Also, the lack of support networks, in an unknown country, double their vulnerability. More than 95% of women who arrive in Mexico can read and write; a similar proportion of them have access to a cell phone. An application providing contact names, adresses,  maps of public health services and NGOs available along the main migration routes (prenatal care, delivery care, breastfeeding consultancy, pediatric care and emergencies). Information on the existence of institutional agreements that guarantee access to and free of charge obstetric emergency care, as well as other relevant services. The application will include a voluntary registry that will allow the monitoring of maternal safety throughout the Mexican territory. The main objective of the application is to reduce maternal risks and those under two years.

Migrant women mainly from Central America and the Caribbean. The Centre for Education and Training on Ecology and Health for Peasants is part of a network of solidarity with migrants and refugees. Its director is the technical secretary of the Chiapas Committe for Safe Motherhood. 

Our 2 year vision is to help migrant women to reduce maternal and nenatal risks providing them  with adequate and sufficient information about health facilities and services from both government and non-profit organizations located along the main migration routes of international and national migrants heading to the northern Mexican border. This information includes maps, contact names, addresses and telephone numbers of  health facilities for antenatal and obstetric care, breastfeeding support, immunizations, pediatric care and urgencies. The application also includes an optional registration form to monitor the conditions of mothers and infants throughout the route. This will include a self-check for risk indicators during pregnancy, instructions for a better use of the Mexican health system and indications for birth registration. Anonimously, women will be able to provide information about their characteristics and needs.

The proposal offers a resource of easy use and access for a highly vulnerable group with little knowledge of the context. The application will serve to improve the ability of migrant women to access care services. The registration of the users will help to better know their needs and characteristics with updated information.

The application will be developed on the Android platform that can be downloaded in public spaces with free internet in the populations where migrants arrive and transit. This information will be disseminated through social networks and printed material in public places.

The application is expected to be an easily accessible tool for migrant women who, for the most part, find themselves without a supportive social network, during such a crucial period as pregnancy or the upbringing of young children. The high vulnerability of this period increases when they travel through a country where health services and non-profit organizations that can support them are unaware. It is expected that a simple but agile application will help women to make assertive decisions for their and their children's care and to know their rights better, even as migrants. In a resource of simple technology and easy access, but that can have a great impact on the life and health of many women and children.

The estimate of pregnant migrant pregnant women ranges from 7,500 to 15,000 every year. 

During the first year, it is expected that the application will be used by   1,000 to 1,500 pregnant women. It is expected to keep a record of the experiences and results obtained by the use of the application at least of the third part of the users. After disseminating the results and improving and updating the information contained in the application, it is expected that in the second year, the number of users will double. The numbers will depend a lot on the dynamics of migratory flows. It is expected that during the second year, a version of the application can be offered in English and / or French, in order to facilitate access to migrant women who do not speak Spanish.

The success and sustainability of the application will depend to a large extent on the response of public health services and civil organizations. The risk that the application opens expectations that can not be met by government institutions and civil organizations will be avoided; so it will be accompanied by an intense work of information and monitoring of the performance of these organizations.

Contact has been established with program officers of the Pan American Health Organization, who, in addition to supporting the proposal, offer technical support so that it is carried out and evaluated.

The Chiapas Committe for Safe Motherhood, integraated by 16 academic and civil organizations is involved in the proposal. Nevertheless, it is a group of four persons who will develop the technical aspects of the application. Two part-time professional will be hired to develop and pilot the use of the application. Members of all participating organizations of the Chiapas Committe and other networks will participate in the dissemination and monitoring.

The Safe Motherhood Committee is integrated by activist, qualified professionals and researchers, with presence on the field. Members have  broad experience in maternal health and its determinants. The Committee also has a great knowledge of how the health system operates and its credibility allows it to influence some public policies. Some of their organizations participate actively in the care of the migrant population. For this reason, we are certain of the relevance of the proposal and the technical capacity of the organizations involved.

As explained above, the Committee for Safe Motherhood in Chiapas is composed of 16 academic and civil society organizations, as well as being an integral part of national and international networks in favor of the protection of the right to health, as well as support for migrants and displaced people. There will be technical support from the Pan American Health Organization. 

The organizations of the committee promoting a safe motherhood are the initial partners of the project. To these will be added the organizations located along the migration routes. The organizations have decided to commit volunteer work and information for the application, its maintenance and its monitoring. Initial needs require the hiring of experts for the final design of the application, as well as its dissemination in the countries of the region and their monitoring.

The key resources are technical expertise on maternal, obstetric and perinatal care and the understanding of the health system. The members of the Safe Motherhood Committee are committed to provide permanent advice for the design, execution and evaluation of results as input from their organizations. The Pan American Health Organization and migrant support networks, as well as health authorities in Chiapas, will sign a collaboration agreement to provide migrant women who come to demand services as a result of using the application. It is expected that the timely attention of every thousand migrant women per year avoids between five and ten maternal deaths, as well as between 50 and 60 cases of extreme morbidity, which in addition to avoiding suffering, offers the possibility of an estimated saving of between two thousand and three thousand five hundred pesos for each case.

Due to the fact that the use of the application is aimed for the use of extreme vulnerable population, the access and use will be free. Sustainability will depend on financial support from third parties. Althought mantainance cost is minimal, economic support is expected from international health and migration organizactions. 

The application seeks to reduce two of the serious barriers to accessing health services for migrant women during pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding and newborn care: the lack of a supportive social network and the lack of knowledge of the context and available health services. We trust that the application can reduce the impact of this barrier.

Human rights organizations, migrant and women organizations from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. 

The prize could be used in direct field dissemination of information about the application. A protocol of evaluation would be implemented. Additional applications, also for migrant women could be developed (on physical/sexual violence and  family planning services).