Maternal mortality remains a daunting challenge to Nigeria: Against a global target of less than 75/100,000LB in 2015, Nigeria had 800/100,000 LB in 2011. This project will leverage on the information technology growth in Nigeria to address this problem by developing an online platform for expectant mothers to interact, engage with health officers, tell their stories and get timely medical advices on how best to take care of themselves and baby.
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Obstetricians/gynecologists, and pediatricians from Government hospitals will participate in this project and will be featured on the website. Pregnant women and nursing mothers can log unto the website to post comments, tell stories of their experiences during pregnancy, or seek direct health advice from the doctors. All comments, questions and answers will be displayed on the site and will serve to guide other pregnant women and nursing mothers
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
My organization is partnering with the Federal Ministry of Health, and through this partnership we have developed a working relationship with operators of the National Health Scheme of the Federal Government, and operators of Tertiary Health Institutions in Nigeria. We will leverage on this partnership to get health professionals with the requisite competency, under the employ of the Federal Government, to participate officially in this project.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
A minimum of 60 pregnant women/ nursing mothers will be trained on blogging and use of the internet in each of the 17 Local Government Areas of Abia State. Trainees will be selected through community outreach and through liaison with community healthcare centers/ maternity homes. To ensure wider and sustained participation, the trainees will be mandated to train at least 12 other pregnant women/nursing mother upon conclusion of their training.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Rising Voices can also assist this project through providing a link to this project's website on their own website. One of the critical necessities of success for this project is visibility, and this link will go long way in improving the visibility of this project.
Organization
International Center for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development -CENPAD
