According to stats released by the Danish Embassy in Ghana, about 30,000 infants die every year due to birth and pregnancies related complications.
To curb this massive loss of lives at such a tender age, the Danish Embassy has liaised with the University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark, and the Maternity Foundation to launch the Safe Delivery app to help curb infant mortality in Ghana.
The mobile application is designed to provide users immediate access to evidence-based information on basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
“The application downloads content wherever your phone is connected to the internet so that people will be able to access the information even in parts of Ghana where internet connection is unstable,” reads a statement from the Danish Embassy.
The embassy further elaborates that the use of a mobile app technology to disseminate health news is nothing new, but the demand for it, and its impact has increased tremendously in recent years.
“A decade ago only 1/5 people in the world had access to a mobile device, but in 2017 around half of the world’s population has access to one.”
Africa as a continent makes up the second-biggest market for mobile phones in the world. That translates to a vast potential for Maternity Foundation in terms of leveraging on the mobile phone to reach out to the masses when intending to offer essential news on antenatal care, postnatal, and general health information.
The Maternity Foundation further says the Safe Delivery App has grown to over 20 countries in Africa since its inception back in 2010. The app is now in use across Nigeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa among other African countries. The app has over 260,000 downloads.
The app is being implemented in partnership with NGOs, Midwives associations, and government bodies around the African continent and South East Asia. The Maternity Foundation intends to reach 10,000 health workers before the end of this year.
“Every year, around 300,000 women and 5 million new-born die of causes related to childbirth. 99% of these deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries.”
Anna Frellsen, the CEO of Maternity Foundation said, “There is not always a trained midwife in the village and maybe not even a nurse.” In such instances, the Safe Delivery App will come in handy and could prevent the death of the newborn and the mother.