Using an old mobile phone, health worker Floride Uwinkesha logs the latest local pregnancy, part of efforts in Rwanda to boost maternal health through a monitoring programme in isolated rural areas.
The scheme has already helped slash infant and maternal mortality rates.
Marceline Mwubahamana, three months pregnant at 31, doesn’t even have to leave home to have her details logged into a national database at the health ministry.
Uwinkesha, the community officer in charge of maternal health in the rural Nyarukombe district of eastern Rwanda, sends through simple codes on a basic mobile phone.
The database is known as “Rapid SMS” was set up in 2009 with the backing of the United Nations children’s agency United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and underpins a medical monitoring program for pregnancies and babies aged up to two years.
Uwinkesha is one of 45,000 community volunteers helping track health across the remotest parts of the rolling hills of Rwanda. They are elected by the people of their village and given basic training by the government.
“PRE,” she taps, giving a code that means that the pregnancy was confirmed by a health centre. “NP,” she adds, meaning “no problem”.
Once Mwubahamana’s details are recorded in the database, the software automatically generates a date for her next prenatal visit.
