Representatives of the South-Korean cooperation agency Koica and the UN children’s fund Unicef have visited Bugesera to assess how health services providers and community health workers use Rapid SMS technology to assist pregnant women and newborns. Both organizations have supported the establishment of the system.
According to Unicef deputy representative Oliver Petrovic, beneficiaries of rapid SMS include pregnant mothers, newborns and children under the age of two, while users are among others community health workers, providers at health centers, district hospital local administrators, as well as private sector and policy makers at central and district level .
He said that he was impressed by the work being implemented on the ground, where the Rapid SMS system is reducing maternal deaths and improving the lives of mothers.
Sharing her routine work as regards Rapid SMS, demonstrated her daily activities and explained to the visitors her actual report tracking using Rapid SMS.
“Rapid SMS enable us to give real-time feedback messages, reminders, delivery notification and ensure follow-up of high-risk pregnancies, newborns,” explained community health worker Marthe Uwizeyimana. “It also has a red alert system that will trigger off ambulance services and quick referral of emergency maternal, newborn and child cases for urgent care at health facilities.”
Joselyne Murekatete, a mother of 3 among who a 7-month-old baby, said that the Rapid SMS system had been very helpful during her latest pregnancy, as the health worker was very close to her and reported on every single change in her body until she was about to give birth. She was also impressed when the hospital sent her an ambulance very quickly and that she received the required health care without any delay.
Jean Baptiste Byiringiro, the Rapid SMS manager at the ministry of health, confirmed that the technology has given a boost to efforts to further reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
Koica has put $4.5 million in the 3-year program to save the lives of children and mothers in 10 districts of Rwanda, which is helping Unicef and the ministry of health to enhance safe motherhood for over 140.000 mothers with newborns and to detect early signs of stunting for over 250,000 children aged under two.
In addition, over 8,000 community health workers are being trained in the use of Rapid SMS health interventions to manage the main child killer diseases which are malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea.
