A ground breaking initiative linking expectant Timorese mothers with healthcare providers through mobile technology was partly inspired by University of Notre Dame lecturers who focused on social issues as they taught.
The Liga Inan, or ‘Mobile Mums’, project aims to help improve the likelihood of healthy births and reduce infant mortality rates in the Southeast Asian country.
It was produced by software development firm Catalpa International – the brainchild of three Notre Dame alumni: David Roach, Anders Hofstee and Barry Patterson.
“For the three of us, our time at Notre Dame, and the University’s Timor-Leste immersion program, had a fundamental impact on what we have chosen to do with our careers and lives,” Mr Roach said.
“The University exposed us to some amazing lecturers who placed a focus on social issues and helped to frame our work ethic – some of whom continue to give us advice and guidance to this day.”
The goal of the project is to increase the provision of quality skilled care for expectant mothers before, during and after delivery.
Through the project, midwives use mobile phone technology to register expectant mothers, track their progress, know when they go into labour and make the necessary arrangements for attending the delivery.
Twice-weekly automated health promotional information is sent via SMS to pregnant mothers in order to link them with regular prenatal care.
This support continues through the first six weeks of the newborn’s life. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s Child Survival and Health Grants Program and implemented in partnership with Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health.
“The reason behind the project is that the majority of women in Timor-Leste live in remote and rural areas which make it challenging for them to access health facilities and midwives,” Mr Roach said.
“Liga Inan also facilitates phone contact between pregnant and postpartum women and their midwives, including regular phone contact around the time of delivery.”
The program was launched in February 2013.
In the first full month of Liga Inan, 56 births were attended by a skilled provider – a 50 per cent increase on 2012; after 10 weeks, more than 310 women had enrolled in Liga Inan with 108 births recorded.
“While the program is in its early days of implementation, there has been significant interest within the Ministry of Health to scale it nationally,” Mr Roach said.
“We are excited by Liga Inan’s potential and for future opportunities to expand the service to other countries.”