Mobile health service reaches 100,000 subscribers across Bangladesh
DHAKA- A global partnership of donors that aims at providing mobile phone aided health service this month reached 100,000 subscribers across Bangladesh under a program called Aponjon.
Aponjon, the first-ever nationwide maternal and child health mobile messaging service in Asia, is an initiative of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), a public-private partnership between United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Johnson & Johnson, the mHealth Alliance, the United Nations Foundation, and BabyCenter.
Aponjon delivers stage-based essential health messages to expectant and new mothers and their families across Bangladesh via mobile phones.
USAID is the primary founder of the Aponjon service while D.Net, a Bangladeshi non-profit social enterprise, is the lead implementer of the service, working in close collaboration with dozens of local and international public and private sector partners.
“This month Aponjon reached another milestone when it registered its 100,000th subscriber in Bangladesh,” said USAID in a statement on Monday.
It said the Bangladeshi government has endorsed the service and actively promotes the registration of new subscribers through Ministry of Health community health workers and through non- governmental organizations.
According to USAID statement, Aponjon messages are designed to dispel common misconceptions, inform expecting and new mothers of potential health dangers and warning signs, help them find local healthcare services and explain the advantages of family planning.
The service design of Aponjon includes not only pregnant and new mothers, but also other key decision-makers in the family such as husbands, mothers and mothers-in-law, it said.
The service is now available through a common number on the South Asian country’s cell phone companies — Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi, Airtel and Citycell mobile operators, said the statement.
Source: Xinhua
