KENYA—M-mama, a public-private partnership (PPP) emergency transportation system, has expanded to Kenya, to help improve the country’s maternal and newborn emergency care response system.

The new PPP emergency healthcare program involves the Government of Kenya, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Vodafone Foundation, Safaricom Plc, and the M-PESA Foundation.

Present at the country launch were the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Nakhumicha S. Wafula, Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, US envoy Meg Whitman and USAID boss Samantha Power.

The initiative will not only ensure efficient transport access in the case of obstetric emergencies but will save the lives of mothers and newborns.

The CS. Wafula at the unveiling ceremony said, “I would like to acknowledge that losing a mother or a baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon after delivery is indeed a painful experience. Besides the socio-economic loss to society, when a mother dies, a family is left distraught, destitute, and hopeless.”

Wafula also noted the limitations to accessing proper healthcare are caused by delays in making decisions to seek healthcare intervention, delays in reaching the health facility due to transportation challenges, and delays in receiving timely healthcare interventions.

“M-mama will help in the emergency referral system by swiftly responding to transport emergency calls to pregnant women and newborns facing complications to appropriate healthcare facilities,” the CS expressed.

The CS said that ensuring safe pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery period to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is the government’s key priority.

“We must ensure that no individual is left behind in pursuit of UHC, due to financial constraints of geographical barriers. By pooling our resources, streaming our efforts, and implementing effective strategies, we can provide comprehensive healthcare services to every corner of our great nation,” CS Nakhumicha said.

The CS directed officers responsible for this initiative to begin working jointly with the partners and counties to begin the process of unpacking this initiative and designing a robust yet responsive emergency transport system for the clientele.

M-mama, 10 years and growing strong

The m-mama system, successful in Tanzania and Lesotho, is now being launched in Kenya.

Since it was created by Vodafone Foundation and USAID in 2013, m-mama has transported over 28,000 women and newborns and is conservatively estimated to have saved over 900 lives.

Initially, operating in Tanzania’s Lake Zone, including the region of Shinyanga, Vodafone Foundation created the m-mama system, including recruiting drivers and coordinating ambulances through a centralized dispatch center.

M-mama also expanded beyond Tanzania in 2019 to Lesotho, which has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates and achieved national scale in Lesotho in early 2023. 

M-Mama works with a clinically trained dispatcher managing referrals and confirms facility availability to ensure women and newborns in emergency situations can be promptly managed.

The program also recruits, trains, and pays local community and taxi drivers to provide additional emergency transport options when ambulances are unavailable, ensuring greater availability of transport for patients.

M-mama has been shown to contribute to a 38 percent decrease in the number of maternal deaths in pilot locations in Africa.

M-mama in Kenya is aligned with the nation’s Development and Health agenda and will provide an opportunity to strengthen primary health care and digitalization in health using the digital platform.

M-mama will certainly catalyze health sector collaborations and partnerships for safe motherhood thereby accelerating the achievement of many maternal and perinatal targets.

Why M-mama is in Kenya?

According to the National Bureau of Statistics in Kenya, the maternal mortality ratio is still high at 520 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births while child mortality is estimated to be 52 deaths per 1000 live births.

Approximately, 6000 women and 35000 newborns in Kenya die annually from various complications.

This is evident that the rate of Maternal and National Mortality and morbidity from preventable causes around pregnancy, labour, delivery, and the postnatal period is still very high.

USAID acknowledges that despite Kenya making progress in improving maternal and child health, efforts need to be accelerated to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Currently, more than 90 percent of women are estimated to be delivered in healthcare facilities.

The deaths during birth have been attributed to a lack of timely referrals and transport for pregnant women and their newborns thus resulting in delays reaching healthcare facilities.

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