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Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA)

last updated Feb 24, 2012

Overview

Implementing organization: 
D.Net
Implementation Partner(s): 
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Access to Information (A2I) Programme at Prime Minister’s Office are both official government partners of MAMA Bangladesh. MaMoni ( Save the Children), Smiling Sun Franchise Program (SSFP) and Infolady (D.Net) are outreach partners. BRAC is also actively supporting the pilot through its community health workers
Legal Status: 
Public-private partnership
Year Launched: 
2011
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
All income levels

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Donor
Funders: 
mHealth Alliance and BabyCenter LLC, the United Nations Foundation, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Johnson & Johnson and supporting partners

Technology

Technology Used: 
Phones › SMS/MMS (Text Message), Phones › Voice
Technology Purpose: 
Facilitating Patient Communications › Encouraging Patient Compliance, Extending Geographic Access, Facilitating Patient Communications › General Health Education, Improving Diagnosis and Treatment

Scale

Number of Clients Served: 
Reach 500,000 pregnant women and new mothers within three years
Upscaling: 
After completion of pilot in 13 locations across the country, the national launch of the service is expected in 2012.
Summary: 

MAMA Bangladesh is a country-owned, country-led initiative managed by a broad coalition of stakeholders. Through a core group of founding partners, MAMA Bangladesh is designing, testing a platform to provide both audio and text health messages to pregnant women and new mothers linked to their delivery date and date of birth of child.The commercial brand name to be tested is Aponjon.

Program goals/rationale: 

Implementation of an innovative health information service utilizing mobile phones to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. The Objectives of MAMA are:

• Reach 500,000 pregnant women and new mothers within three years • Deliver critical life-saving health messages, leading to sustained improvements in health knowledge, behaviors and outcomes • Build upon USAID and Government of Bangladesh maternal child health and family planning programs.

Key program components: 

Currently in its pilot phase, Aponjon information service delivers life-saving health messages to Bangladeshi women and their families. Mobile health messages are designed to quickly and easily disseminate information that informs women Aponjon mobile health messages are designed to quickly and easily disseminate information that will inform women of ways to

• care for themselves during pregnancy, • dispel myths and misconceptions, • highlight warning signs, • connect women with local health services, • reinforce breast feeding practices, • explain the benefits of family planning, • make new mothers aware of how best to care for their babies • give reminder for immunization; and • advise about nutrition of mother and child.

MAMA Bangladesh works with a number outreach partners for engaging community health and information workers, who are campaigning and facilitating women to register with the service.

Accessing to pregnancy care has been improved in this country. The quality of care, improved awareness for pregnancy care, behavioral changes towards women has been improved and maternal and child health morbidity and mortality has been going down each year.

MaMoni ( Save the Children), Smiling Sun Franchise Program (SSFP) and Infolady (D.Net) are outreach partners. BRAC is also actively supporting the pilot through its community health workers

Program history: 

On May 3, 2011, the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a new public-private partnership called the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA). MAMA (http://www.mobilemamaalliance.org) leverages the collective resources of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Johnson & Johnson and supporting partners, the United Nations Foundation, mHealth Alliance and BabyCenter LLC.

In Bangladesh, USAID has catalyzed the formation of a public private coalition for MAMA, which supports the development of an innovative health information service utilizing mobile phones to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. MAMA coalition activities are being organized by D.Net, a leading social enterprise working for integration of ICTs in education, health, livelihood and social accountability. The key roles of D.Net include coordination of a broad coalition of partners, content (approved by a government-led Health Advisory Board), outreach (public and private community health networks), technology (software platform), connectivity (mobile phone operators) and research (for impact evaluation).

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Access to Information (A2I) Programme at Prime Minister’s Office are both official government partners of MAMA Bangladesh.

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