Zero Mothers Die

Zero Mothers Die is a multi-stakeholder partnership initiative to reduce maternal and newborn mortality through the systematic use of mobile technologies. Founding Partners: Advanced Development for Africa Foundation, Millennia2025 Women and Innovation Foundation and UniversalDoctor Project Technical & Country Partners: UNAIDS, Airtel, The People’s Vision, ZMQ and the Government of Ghana. The Zero Mothers Die project model contains six mobile-focused components: (1) A mobile messaging service delivering timely maternal, newborn and child health information to pregnant women and new mothers through voice and text messages in local languages; (2) Systematic distribution of 100,000 mobile phones per year to vulnerable pregnant women to facilitate their access to healthcare information and care; (3) An allocation of 36,000,000 minutes of free airtime per year to pregnant women to enable their communication with local health workers and facilities, particularly during emergencies; (4) Capacity-building of community health workers (CHWs) using digital tools and content; (5) A mobile money savings scheme to support the cost of skilled care during childbirth; and (6) A solar power business generation scheme to bring financial empowerment to pregnant women and provide sustainable energy to support the charging of their mobile phones. The first implementation phase of Zero Mothers Die will be in Ghana in partnership with the Ghana Ministries of Health and Communications, Office of the First Lady, UNAIDS Ghana and other key local partners.