Impact area: Health; Sustainable Development Goal 3

Isaac Gogo founded Linda Mtoto in 2014. The organization works to save the lives of children under five years of age by enabling parents to receive free health-related messages via mobile technology aimed at improving infant health while reducing maternal and child mortality. Weekly SMS updates provide new and expectant mothers with vaccination schedules, healthy eating tips, and reminders on when to take medications and upcoming doctor visits.

“In Kenya, roughly seven million children under the age of five are risk of death annually from diseases that could have been prevented,” says Isaac. “Knowing that most mothers in rural regions struggle to travel to clinics for frequent care—a challenge amplified during the Covid-19 pandemic—we meet them where they are: on their mobile phones. We will use funding to respond to these challenge by increasing utilization of maternal and child health (MCH) services during and post Covid-19 crisis.”

The Global Youth Resilience fund will help Isaac and team achieve the following results:

• 9,000 pregnant and new mothers have information on importance of antenatal care, attend at least four recommended ANC visits and all doctor appointments including vaccination.
• 2,500 HIV positive mothers adhere to HIV treatment, result in reduced number of children born with HIV or put at risk of contracting HIV from the current 22 percent to less than 5 percent.
• Provide training on Covid-19 to Community Health Volunteers and Traditional Birth Attendants with links to health facilities and supported to mobilize pregnant women in the community
• Provide education on Covid-19, linking women to antenatal care (ANC) clinics and conducting follow-up in cases of missing on treatment.
• Build a buddy system where buddies can collect 3-months’ anti-retroviral therapy (ART) supply if the HIV positive mother cannot
• Set up a toll-free helpline to provide mothers with access to information and support (provide age-appropriate breastfeeding and nutrition information to mothers and fathers via mobile phones integrated with Covid-19, HIV and ART information). Mobile SMS updates provided to new and expectant mothers with vaccination schedules, healthy eating tips, and reminders on when to take medications and upcoming doctor visits.

Learn more about Linda Mtoto here.