Mobiles and computers for child health

The eastern region of Jinja still experiences high rates of child mortality, 147 per 1,000 live births. Many organisations focus their attention on the northern region in Uganda, which is now realizing positive health indicators. Many areas in Jinja and central Uganda remain ignored and many children still experience an increasing risk of illness and dying before their fifth birthday.

Current status

The resource center is operational, with community members attending training and given access to resources including handbooks, training materials on maternal and child health. Community health workers are trained to identify health needs, use the internet to find the required information, and repackage it to present and discuss in their communities through individual visits and group meetings. Text message quizzes are used to spread information on child and maternal health to isolated communities.The website http://www.healthchild.info is operational and staff is trained to edit and create content. Preliminary work towards the production of locally adapted materials and information packs tackling substantive health issues has started.

Text messaging is used to spread health information to communities with poor access to basic services for young children and mothers. Health workers are women recruited from the communities, trained to identify health needs and use ICTs to find and spread relevant information in areas with a high level of illiteracy. They also record health data on young mothers and children that is collected in a database and used by the district health services to respond to problem areas such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

The Health Child project focuses on the prevention of common illnesses that lead to mortality. These include malaria, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, worm infections and anaemia, amongst others.

To raise life expectancy of infants and young children by spreading information through the Internet, multimedia and mobile phones on the most common illnesses that lead to child mortality.

Goals

• 8 interactive health training materials are developed
• 6500 text messages are sent to increase knowledge on health
• 120 people access health information in resource center
• 20 volunteers are trained in ict to deliver health services
• Database is used to improve community health services

Health Child works closely with the district health services and local health facilities, who could take over management of some of the activities. The district may also host the resource centre. Health Child also empowers the communities themselves by training its volunteer health workers, who with the right resources can maintain the activities going forward.