Healthcare Through Mobile Phones

14 July 2017

Malawi is the world’s poorest country as measured by GDP per capita, according to the World Bank.1 Its stark poverty means that access to maternal, child and infant healthcare is difficult to obtain and its maternal and infant mortality rate is one of the highest in Africa. This problem is compounded by the lack of health care facilities and trained medical staff in the country.

Chipatala Cha Pa Foni (CCPF), or Health Center by Phone, was originally developed and implemented in Malawi by the international NGO Concern Worldwide, in partnership with VillageReach as part of the Innovations for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health initiative. VillageReach has since expanded CCPF in scale and scope. CCPF consists of a hotline that provides health information and advice to pregnant women and caretakers of young children. Through a recent merger with Airtel Malawi, a leading mobile network operator (MNO) in the country, and their Dial-a-Doc program, which triages calls to doctors, CCPF will extend its reach to include all health issues.

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