Description of Session
The Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), a global consortium with public-private funding, has delivered vital health information to pregnant women, new mothers and their families through SMS text messages and interactive voice calls (IVR) using their mobile phones their mobile phones with messages that are specifically designed for behavior change. Through an “ages and stages” model, the messages correspond to what a woman is experiencing in her pregnancy or in her child’s development, creating a trusting relationship between the end user and the MAMA Service. With an intentional focus on countries where high maternal and newborn mortality rates intersect with an increasing proliferation of mobile phones, MAMA directly supported country programs in Bangladesh, India, and South Africa and in 2015, launched a program in Nigeria, branded as HelloMama. The HelloMama project operated in Nigeria with the goal to improve the health outcomes and quality of life for pregnant women, newborns, children and their families through a nationally scaled, locally led, and universally accessible demand generation service. HelloMama’s theory of change is based on evidence that when a woman has appropriate information about her health, her child’s health and services that she should use, then she is more likely to adopt health behaviors and use services that will lead to improved health outcomes. Recognizing that husbands/ partners, also have influence on a woman’s maternal and child health care, a set of free messages was also developed for this target population
