Integrating Cash Transfer and Nutrition Promotion with Mobile

Tanvir Huda of ICDDRB in Bangladesh will improve care and nutrition for pregnant women and young children by setting up a system whereby mobile phones are used to receive nutritional information and financial incentives for positive health-related behavior, such as attending clinics. They will perform a pilot study in Bangladesh by recruiting 350 pregnant women, providing them with mobile handsets, and establishing trained health workers who will send weekly nutritional advice and supply nutritional supplements. Cash will be transferred using bkash (a mobile banking system) when certain conditions are met, including intake of supplements, prenatal and antenatal care checks, and listening to mobile messages. The approach will be evaluated by discussions with relatives, and assessing birth outcomes and infant growth.