In Senegal – community-based collaborative technologies to improve maternal and child health.
The “Aar Leen” project meaning which means “protect them” in a local language, is funded by a consortium of donors under the Grand Challenges. This project sought to build a collaborative community-based platform that allows community actors to use support groups and technology to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in the most remote regions of Senegal.
The innovative aspect here is the integrated approach that combines three platforms that aims reduce the three main delays that increase the rate of maternal and neonatal mortality. These delays are:
- Delay in decision to seek care
- Delay in reach health care providers
- Delay in receiving adequate health care
The integration of three effective service platforms into a single continuum of services allows community health workers, women of reproductive age(WRA), trained traditional birth attendants (matrons), older women (Grandmothers) together to promote health care seeking behaviors, best practices and strengthen access to financial assistance during pregnancy, delivery and the post-partum period. The project has re-developed an application (CommCare) our mHealth solution
The MNCH dashboard that has been developed collects data through CommCare and allows for improved tracking of maternal health activities from the community level to the health facility level. For example, with the dashboard, we are able to see a single pregnancy recorded (no matter how far woman is) and follow it up until delivery and make sure all essentials care are given to the mother and the newborn during this period.
A version of the dashboard is given to health district medical officer to follow up on all pregnancies within the respective health district
