Denis Opudo
The Safe Delivery App has been launched in Ghana to reduce the death of the young ones during delivery. According to the Embassy of Denmark, 30,000 infants lose their lives every year due to complications related to birth or pregnancies in the country. The app was developed by Denmark citizens at the University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark and Maternity Foundation.
The app is available for Android and ioS smartphones, and it offers free services. It offers immediate access to evidence-based information on basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care. According to Embassy of Denmark, the application downloads content whenever 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 not dependable.
The idea to utilize mobile phone technology in the health sector is nothing new, but the demand and more importantly the effect of this technology has increased dramatically in later years. It’s believed that a decade ago only 1/5 people in the world had access to a mobile device, but in 2017 around half the world’s population has access to one. The fact that Africa is the second-largest market for mobile phones, the Maternity Foundation says it hopes to leverage mobile technology to ensure safe births in rural Africa.
The Maternity Foundation says the Safe Delivery App, launched in 2010, is currently being used in more than 20 African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and Morocco and already has more than 26, 000 downloads. It is currently being implemented in partnerships with NGOs, Midwives associations and governments in countries across Africa and South East Asia, with a goal is to reach 10,000 health workers before the end of 2017.
Most African women depend on midwifery for birth hence leading to the death of more than 300, 000 women and 5 million newborn babies’ death. A good number takes place in low and middle-income earners.
