Cell phones help save the lives of mothers, infants and children

Simple mobile technology, like basic cell phones, can be used to save the lives of mothers in childbirth, and improve the care of newborns and children, reaching underserved populations in remote areas.

More advanced mobile technology can do even more, such as checking on patients, keeping records, improving diagnosis and treatment in the field, and letting community health workers consult general practitioners and specialists for guidance.

"With mobile technologies for health, called 'mhealth' or 'mobile health,' we're extending capabilities to where they don't exist today," says David Aylward, who heads mHealth Alliance, a partnership founded by the United Nations Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation.

"At the most basic level, mobile phones can be used to keep track of people, call for emergency assistance, remind them of appointments and share information," says Julian Schweitzer, PhD, former Chair of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Care (PMNCH) and the Chair of the Finance Working Group for the UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, launched in September. "But then you can layer on things like check lists, protocols, the steps to ensure a safe birth and action instructions in particular circumstances," says Dr. Schweitzer.

Used by midwives in rural, urban slums and isolated areas, cell phones can also be attached to diagnostic devices, including those used for remote fetal monitoring or remote wireless ultrasound. This lets a midwife or health worker know in advance that a mother must get to a clinic. They can also be used for recording births and deaths or assuring that both women and children get the care they need when and where they need it.

"In the near future, wireless diagnostics like stethoscopes, blood pressure, temperature and insulin monitors, and ultrasounds will enable remote diagnosis and treatment far from the closest doctor or clinic, " says Mr. Aylward.

Use spreading rapidly

Five years ago, the idea of using cell phones to improve health care for mothers, infants and children wasn't feasible.

That has changed rapidly. Consider these facts:

* 70 percent of the world's 5 billion cell phone subscribers are in the developing world.
* Today almost 90 percent of the world's population has access to a wireless telephone signal.
* In India alone, 33 percent of people living in villages have mobile phones.
* About three quarters of mobile phone users have texting capability and features such as GPS that can pinpoint their location.
* By 2015, about 60 percent of mobile phones are expected to be web-enabled.

"These networks are being extended almost everywhere. People are paying for the devices and the service, which shows that people value access to information and the ability to communicate, and that includes health information and communication," says Mr. Aylward.