Saving Mothers in Global South –CareMother by Doto Health in the Subcontinent and Africa

Of the estimated global maternal deaths in 2020, around 87% (253 000) were accounted for from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. CareMother by Doto Health subscribes to SDG Target 3.1 to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. Our mission of creating equal opportunities for quality care for women led us to the most varying countries in terms of needs and resource availability. From the peak of the lockdown to the most distant power-strained zones, We have achieved numerous in aiding respective maternity everywhere time and again. Our resolve has only become stronger.

Learn how we’re creating a lasting impact across Asia and Africa.

Afghanistan

One of our most challenging and still yet much more rewarding projects. Led by IPPF Africa Region (International Planned Parenthood Federation) in association with Afghan Family Guidance Association, We were involved in providing comprehensive maternal and child services through 150 midwives in 10 conflict-prone provinces of the country. The project was a first-of-its-kind ‘midwifery-led technology-enabled intervention’. All the set-up and arrangements were done in the heat of COVID-19.

Training and hands-on simulations were conducted for our maternal care solution kit, app, and dashboard application to create a group of trainers and master trainers. Another disruption came in the form of the political disruption in the country. Refresher trainings were conducted for midwife supervisors on different case scenarios.

The project resulted in a baseline survey being completed in all 10 provinces capturing the socio-economic demographic and health profile of 45,000 families. 15,000+ Afghan mothers were registered on the HMIS. IPPF published the project completion report titled “Critical Delivery: Sexual and Reproductive (SRH) Services at the Doorstep in Conflict-prone Afghanistan”

Bangladesh

We have partnered with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) to set up a pilot project as part of USAID’s Global Linkages Program. It aimed to introduce innovative devices targeted at identifying and managing high-risk pregnancies in urban and rural hard-to-reach areas. The kits were supplied to four BRAC maternity centers in Dhaka and Chittagong provinces. The app was made suitable for usage by the health workers: Shasthya Kormi in terms of the local terminology and language, covering 200-400 households each.

During the pilot timeline, a total of 800+ mothers were registered and tested on the CareMother platform. It led to an evidenced increase in the identification and management of high-risk pregnancies and timely referral, and also an increase in antenatal and postnatal coverage of pregnant women.

Nigeria

With support from USAID Global Linkages Program, CareMother by Doto Health and PanAfricare established a successful model of high-risk pregnancy identification and management in Nigeria. The aim of this pilot study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the CareMother kit and software application in the early identification of high-risk pregnancies to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality. After thorough planning, 18 implementation sites were selected and the necessary questionnaire and protocols were formed. Also, proper regulatory dossier and integration with project-specific dashboard was completed.

The pilot led to creation of 18 master trainers and 52 trained healthcare staff, made possible by concerted weekly review groups, shared feedback, and data collection activities. Compared to the baseline about 50% increase in identification of high-risk pregnancies and a 90% increase in antenatal coverage was achieved in the project.

Sierra Leone

We partnered with The Energy Nexus Network and Global SDG7 Hubs to demonstrate a sustainable maternity care model with Solar-powered digital solutions. Initial engagement involved meeting with the Digital Health Management Team (DHMT) of Kambia district and DHMT of Western Area Rural district, along with officials from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS). The team installed solar-powered medical equipment in the 2 health facilities along with training the TENN team and healthcare staff.

The project demonstrated our climate-friendly, sustainable, and replicable model of care for pregnancy and fetal monitoring. At the time of writing, 200+ registrations have been completed with an aim to potentially reach 10,000+ pregnant women and 5,000 newborn children over the scale-up.