Scaling up mHealth in the Guatemalan Highlands to reduce maternal and new-born mortality

The project will be addressing the scaling up an mHealth program to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in rural hard to reach indigenous communities of northern Guatemala. The Tula Foundation has been working with the Ministry of Health & Public Assistance since 2004 to train culturally appropriate community auxiliary nurses and other health professionals. In 2007, to support some of our graduate, we developed an mHealth pilot project in the department of Alta Verapaz to monitor high risk pregnancies and strengthen the community referral system by working with health centres and the hospitals to promote more culturally sensitive maternal and neonatal care. The technology approach is based upon using low-cost information and communications technologies such as Elluminate live for rural education and health services training; Nokia cell phones equipped with EpiSurveyorS and CommCare for epidemiological monitoring and emergency obstetrical care; and demand creation using cell phones with speakers in audio conferences in Mayan languages to village health committees. The project is innovative because a long-term incremental approach has led to buy-in from local communities and the departmental health authorities and has contributed to a significant reduction of maternal mortality in AV since 2007. The Tula Foundation has already invested more than $8 million in the initiative and seeks to partner with the Saving Lives at Birth initiative in this transition to scale.