Provided By: ZMQ | June 2, 2015
India has a high maternal mortality rate of 190 for every 100,000 live births and infant mortality rate of 44 for every 1,000 live births. Fifty-one percent of women opt for traditional method of home-based delivery and only 48.8% of births are assisted by skilled health workers in India, which puts both mother and child health at high risk. MIRA is an integrated mobile phone channel which provides total communication, information, management and service delivery for maternal and child health in the rural India. The project won Millennium Alliance and Vodafone M4G Awards in 2013.
MIRA is an integrated mobile phone channel which provides health communication and information tools to rural women through mobile phones in low-resource settings. It has multiple components on issues related to pre-natal care, child immunization, newborn care, family planning and adolescent health using an RMNCH+A (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health) approach. Information is delivered through interactive tools by creating awareness on critical health issues, building knowledge & facilitating timely connection with the public health services.
MIRA uses iconic language with audio support, making it an interactive ‘Talking toolkit’ designed for millions of semi-literate women. It also has numerous VAS tools like stimulating social mobile games and decision-making stories to motivate communities to adopt new behaviors.
1) MIRA Individual App is available on women's mobile phones to empower self-management of health. A single handset allows multiple registrations which allows participation from women groups sharing a common phone in the communities.
2) MIRA Worker Toolkit is used by a set of health workers who go from house-to-house registering pregnant women and children under five for RI. MIRA workers deliver weekly iconic information to these communities using mobile.
3) MIRA-PHC Connect is a communication and service delivery platform in sync with the public health system which connects ASHAs and ANMs and enables them take timely action on high risk pregnancies. The platform generates live data to help the state to make decisions.
MIRA was piloted in Haryana, in the Mewat district. MIRA has reached over 266,000 women, and has been rolled out with SHG Federations and Haryana Livelihood Mission with 130,000 women. MIRA is also distributed through telcos, re-charge kiosks, OEMs and CR stations. Fifty dedicated MIRA workers are working in over 80 villages covering almost 67,000 people. In the intervention area, there has been an increase in ANC visits by 59%, institutional deliveries by 49% and immunization rates by 41%. The MIRA PHC connect model is currently being scaled to 180 ASHAs and 25 ANMs, reaching as many as 69,000 women. Prompt action has been taken by ANMs in 84% of the High Risk Pregnancy (HRPs) queries raised by ASHAs. Live data produced by the platform enables the state to take timely action.
MIRA aims to reach to over two million people in the next year. Success of MIRA program in Haryana has triggered its adoption in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. MIRA is expanding in Uganda and Afghanistan, and is exploring partnerships in West Africa with Zero Mothers Die.
For more information, visit: http://www.mirachannel.org, or view the videos below:
