Description of Session
With the 2019 launch of the WHO Digital Health Guidelines the role of digital technologies in support of universal health coverage is becoming more mainstream. In the last five years, South Africa’s National Department of Health (NDOH) has overseen a range of digital services to support maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH). MomConnect, a nationally scaled interactive messaging service and helpdesk for pregnant women and new mothers, has reached over 2.5 million women, with 35% of the userbase now on WhatsApp. NurseConnect has enrolled over 30,000 nurses and midwives. The electronic Road to Health app was recently launched as a digital complement to the paper-based paediatric health record. These initiatives collectively demonstrate a suite of digital tools – including outbound messaging, an AI-powered helpdesk, mobile websites and applications - that the NDOH can use to effectively communicate with clients and health workers across a range of population groups. The NDOH aims to target additional priority groups including HIV positive patients on treatment, adolescent girls, and community health workers. An NDOH app store will enable management of all mHealth applications that are endorsed by the NDOH. It will soon include a range of provider-based guides including TB and HIV guidelines and an Essential Medicines List. To further the vision of two-way interaction between the NDOH, patients and health workers, there is a need to upgrade and integrate multiple helpdesks within the NDOH, and harness artificial intelligence to ensure that routine interactions can be dealt with in a cost-efficient manner. This first example of a developing country institutionalising a vision for mHealth for the future, the NDOH is committed to creating an mHealth Unit with associated funding to fund core costs. This unit will partner with funders and technical service providers to drive implementation and ongoing innovation.
