Pay it Forward Maternal Health Model
Malezi-Bora is a mobile application, availed in local languages, with audio content regarding maternal and newborn health. It works on ultra-low-cost handsets and leverages village social networks. It utilizes a pay-it-forward business model, designed to incentivize mothers to virally share its content, and mapping technology to identify mothers in distress. The application focuses on addressing the inability of current health information-sharing systems gaining critical-mass usage and the inability of community health workers to reach every mother. It creates scenarios that ensure that mothers in dispersed villages have access to life-saving information regarding maternal and newborn health. The application leverages village social networks, and provides clear incentives to mothers-to-be, to not only use the content, but also re-distribute it continuously to other mothers-to-be. Its location-mapping technology enables nurses to quickly reach mothers in distress.