Segal Family Foundation
The Segal Family Foundation (SFF) is a social impact funder and advisor. It invests in visionary local leaders with bold ideas and huge potential to transform society and helps progressive donors do the same.
Vodafone Foundation is the charitable arm of Vodafone Group Plc, a UK-headquartered multinational telecommunications company.
Principle
Lee Wells, Director of m-mama for Vodafone Foundation
Vodafone Foundation is the charitable arm of Vodafone Group Plc, a UK-headquartered multinational telecommunications company. Through their strategic aim of ‘Connecting for Good’, the Foundation combines Vodafone’s corporate philanthropy with the company’s expertise in technology to create long-term, sustainable programmes that help address the world’s most pressing problems.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify the reduction of maternal mortality as a top-priority global health challenge. Tens of thousands of pregnant women in rural areas of Africa are unable to travel to a hospital in a pregnancy-related emergency, and rates of maternal and newborn deaths remain persistently high despite improvement efforts. Weak health systems and delayed access to emergency healthcare are significant factors driving maternal and newborn deaths, with the lack of affordable transport for emergency referrals serving as a significant contributor to poor outcomes. Given Vodafone Foundation’s commitment to using the company’s technology, data, and communications expertise to create viable long-term social programmes, the Foundation’s senior stakeholders sought out opportunities to work in partnership with African governments and major international development actors.
In 2013, Vodafone Foundation initially collaborated in Tanzania with USAID, Vodacom Tanzania, and the regional government to develop what has now become known as the ‘m-mama’ programme. This programme uses a network of local drivers to act as ‘taxi ambulances’, in areas where such services are rarely available. If emergency healthcare is required by a mother or newborn, a free phone number allows an ambulance provided if available. In 80% of cases, ambulances are unavailable so the nearest volunteer emergency driver is identified by a trained dispatcher via the dedicated m-mama app. The dispatcher manages the collection of the patient and ensures appropriate transport to the nearest facility for stabilisation and then to a higher-level facility for treatment. On safe arrival at the final treatment facility, the driver is paid instantly for the journey via M-Pesa (Vodacom’s mobile money transfer system) or another approved mechanism.
“The free phone number and app are critical because they enable access to the service and ensure the dispatcher has all they need to respond to an emergency. They ensure efficient use of scarce transport and healthcare resources at levels affordable within local budgets”, says Lee Wells, Director of m-mama for Vodafone Foundation.
The challenge for Vodafone Foundation involved working out how they could build on the success of the m-mama solution and scale it across Africa.
Since 2015, in collaboration with local governments and authorities, Vodafone Foundation has been committed to collecting regular data on all aspects of the programme and using them to create a real-time dashboard that can be accessed by the local and national government and potential funders. Studies and ongoing data collection in Tanzanian regions where m-mama operates have determined that maternal mortality has been reduced by 38% and neonatal deaths by over 40%. Just as critical is the low cost of operation. m-mama is on track to reach national scale in Tanzania by September 2023, at which point it will cost the government USD 2 million per year to maintain whilst transporting an estimated 50,000+ emergencies per year.
Seeing the impact the programme had in specific regions, Vodafone sought ways to use the data they collected to create larger, more systemic changes in the African maternal health space by asking key questions:
They then used the insights gained from considering these questions to develop a range of actions:
Estimated 50,000+ maternal health emergencies transported by m-mama programmes every year in Tanzania from October 2023.
Up to 38% reduction in maternal mortality and 40% reduction in neonatal death in regions where m-mama operates.
Commitment from national governments in Tanzania and Lesotho to roll out services at a national level so the Foundation can move on to expand the programme elsewhere.
Vodafone Foundation has publicly committed to expanding m-mama to other countries in partnership with donors and governments.
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