Vodafone Foundation expands M-Mama healthtech service into Kenya

The Vodafone Foundation is expanding life-saving mobile healthcare service M-Mama into Kenya through a public-private partnership.

The Government of Kenya, the US Government through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Vodafone Foundation, Safaricom and the M-Pesa Foundation are working together to bring the healthtech system to Kenya.

M-Mama is a mobile healthcare service and emergency referral system that swiftly transports pregnant women and newborns facing complications to appropriate healthcare facilities.

A clinically trained dispatcher manages the referrals and confirms facility availability to ensure emergency situations involving women and newborns can be promptly managed.

The program also recruits, trains and pays local community and taxi drivers to provide additional emergency transport options when ambulances are unavailable, ensuring greater availability of transport for patients. The service will be accessible through a free landline and mobile phone number.

M-Mama has its roots in Tanzania, where it was created by Vodafone Foundation and USAID in 2013, and the service is expected to save the lives of around 17,000 mothers and babies over the next five years.

The partners will work with the Kenyan government and contribute US$14 million to set up M-Mama in the country. USAID announced it would provide up to US$5 million toward the initiative, and Vodafone Foundation and M-Pesa Foundation announced an additional US$9 million contribution.

M-Mama is expected to save the lives of around 17,000 mothers and babies over the next five years.(Image source: Vodafone Foundation).

Vodafone owns 65.1% of South African-headquartered Vodacom, which in turn owns 35% of Safaricom.

Vodacom operates in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania, while Safaricom operates in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Beyond Tanzania, M-Mama has already expanded into the DRC and Lesotho and Vodacom plans to reach more African markets, even those not in its current footprint.

M-Mama has already transported over 28,000 women and newborns and is conservatively estimated to have saved over 900 lives.

M-Mama in Kenya

Now the Kenyan government is pioneering the M-Mama approach to enhance maternal and newborn health.

USAID said that Kenya has made significant progress towards improving maternal and child health, with most pregnant women (90%) delivering their babies in health facilities. However, efforts need to be accelerated in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Currently about 6,000 women and 35,000 newborns still die annually from complications. One of the challenges is lack of timely referrals and transport for pregnant women and their newborns to reach facilities that can provide quality services without unnecessary delays.

M-Mama has been shown to contribute to a 38% decrease in the number of maternal deaths in pilot locations in Africa.

Vodacom also has a zero-rated mobile health platform in South Africa called Mum & Baby, which provides mothers with regular information on maternal, neonatal and child health and nutrition in five local languages.

In Tanzania, Vodacom's healthy pregnancy and healthy baby platform – locally known as Wazazi – also provides maternal health information.

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*Top image source: Vodafone Foundation.