Interactive chatbot providing critical health information to clients 24 hours-a-day in 21 languages.
USAID, Skoll Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Schwab Foundation, Africa Regional Social Entrepreneurs, Mulago Foundation, Jasmine Social Investments,
As a result of COVID-19 and restrictions on movement to curb its spread, routine access to health facilities and health information were affected. The communities in which m2m works (in 10 sub-Saharan countries) are at a disproportionate risk of adverse health outcomes due to fragile health systems and a high prevalence of HIV and other co-morbidities such as tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Access to adequate information on different health conditions, services available in each country, and self-management support are critical. The VMMP is uniquely placed to provide this information conveniently and in local languages for ease of access while ensuring protection of Mentor Mothers and their clients from the risk of exposure to COVID-19 through direct contact.
VMMP is a WhatsApp-based interactive chatbot providing critical health information to clients 24 hours a day, through a staff line, client line and a helpdesk to ensure we meet the need of our staff and clients. It is used by frontline healthcare workers and patients alike, is available in 27 languages. It is fast and easy to use for both healthcare workers and clients as the responses between the users and the bot is instant and the helpdesk responds in less than 24 hours.
Hotspots are offered to clients to connect while they wait for other services at local clinics.
VMMP have helped over 60,000 clients and over 2,000 m2m team members access key health and emergency response (COVID-19) content over the last 16 months (Jan 2021 - Apr 2022): 1,080 in Angola, 3,359 in Ghana, 2,966 in Kenya, 10,800 in Lesotho, 8,700 in Malawi, 5,700 in Mozambique, 18,141 in South Africa, 4,461 in Uganda and 4,936 in Zambia.
VMMP plans to implement in other new countries including Tanzania, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the DRC. They have partnered with Praekelt and are currently exploring MTN-Ayoba collaboration to increase usage in Africa and for cross-platform pollination. Their front end is currently open for users to utilise across the board and m2m may be open to sharing the platform with long-term partners such as UNDP.
