Rwanda Saving Mothers' Lives With An SMS


The RapidSMS program provides mobile phones to connect pregnant women, community health workers (CHWs), ambulances, and hospitals. CHWs enter data into phones to track all pregnant women, monitor prenatal care, and identify women at risk of complications. The free platform also allows pregnant women to send a text message to their CHW, who can alert an ambulance to be dispatched to even the most remote regions and give hospitals advanced notice of the women’s arrival. The system has been so effective in improving health outcomes that the government is looking to use it for other medical issues like malaria.

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