One-line solution summary:
Empowering community health professionals with skills and a digital tool to provide health services in last mile rural areas.
Pitch your solution.
In Uganda 8 in 10 people reside in rural areas yet these areas are neglected in health service delivery despite being where the majority of the citizens live. It is therefore no surprise that 25 women die daily while giving birth under the care of unskilled birth attendants. MobiKlinic is committed to solving this problem. We empower Community Health Professionals (CHPs) through training on maternal & child health, recognition of suspected cases of epidemic prone diseases, treatment of some diseases and health education. They are then deployed into the community with the MobiKlinic mobile application to provide door to door health services to women and other patients in rural communities. Through our solution, patients in these rural communities no longer need to worry about long distances to the health centers as our CHPs are available in the community to render the basic health services that they need.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
According to the World Economic Forum 3.5 billion people live in last mile areas and face difficulty in accessing healthcare. Of these, 500 million are found in Africa. In Uganda, 8 in 10 people live in last mile villages and peri urban areas of the country. Many of these people have to walk distances of over 12 km to reach the nearest health center, a journey that takes 2 hours on average. Pregnant women in these communities find themselves greatly affected. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic access to health services in these areas has become more difficult. Movement restrictions and health workforce overwhelmed by the increasing number of COVID-19 patients among other factors have led to reduction in accessing health services such as antenatal care, HIV, malaria and vaccination. The vulnerable in the population such as pregnant women find themselves greatly affected.
What is your solution?
The solution utilizes a fusion of physical and digital interventions. Community health professionals (CHPs) empowered through training on maternal & child health, recognition of suspected cases of epidemic prone diseases, treatment of some diseases and health education. They are then deployed into the community with the MobiKlinic mobile application to provide door to door health services to women and other patients in rural communities. Through the application CHPs are able to record patient data, request assistance from distant physicians in case patients present with complicate cases and request for ambulances that facilitate referrals to health centers that we collaborate with. The storage of patient data by the digital tool comes in handy in situations such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. MobiKlinic is much needed in during this pandemic to bring health services safely to people’s door steps.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
MobiKlinic has been providing door to door health services in rural communities of Buikwe district in Central Uganda since 2019. Our target population has been mainly women of reproductive age (15-49 years). Men and children have also benefited from our services. Before the roll out of services, consultations were made with select village health teams (VHTs) and women within the communities to determine community health needs. It is through such meetings that we established that people particularly pregnant women experienced great difficulty in accessing health services due to long distances (average of 12 km) from health centers, a journey that takes on average 2 hours. Other challenges included drug stock outs in government health facilities, health worker absenteeism hence poor service delivery. The MobiKlinic initiative was therefore established to ensure that rural communities in the district have access to the basic health services that they need as well as an integrated referral systems where patients can be referred to health centers that we collaborate with.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Equip last-mile primary healthcare providers with the necessary tools and knowledge to detect disease outbreaks quickly and respond to them effectively.Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.
Our solution covers the aspect of last mile primary healthcare providers and we are committed to empowering them with necessary knowledge, skills and tools to ably detect and respond to disease outbreaks among other health issues in rural communities. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic now more than ever is a strong community based health system required to ensure that rural residents are able to receive the basic health services that they need at their doorstep despite the pandemic and its associated effects. The target population are the women, men and children in rural communities.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Kampala, UgandaWhat is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth.Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.
We are in the growth stage of our solution. In Buikwe district we currently operate in the Parishes of Kiyindi, Tukulu and Kinoni. A total of 20 community health professionals have been trained thus far. A total of 6000 people have benefited from our services of which 67% have been female. We are therefore in a position where we plan to improve on our digital tool and replicate our services to other communities.
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Andrew Ddembe - Founder & CEO
If you have additional video content that explains your solution, provide a YouTube or Vimeo link here:
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technologyWhat makes your solution innovative?
Our services are premised on innovation. Creative and new ways of connecting patients to health facilities and physicians/nurses are inculcated in our functioning/operation. Key to this is leveraging on the relationships our community health professionals have with community members as well as establishing relationships and collaborations with health centers in the district in which we operate in. In a time where people’s movements are restricted and the few health workers in health centers are being overwhelmed by the increasing COVID-19, patients in rural areas shouldn’t be neglected. It is essential that healthcare is provided at their doorsteps by people they trust. A pregnant woman in a village in Buikwe district, Central Uganda needs not to worry about receiving the antenatal care that she needs during the pandemic period because our unique solution ensures that a community health professional is always available in her community.
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
Select the key characteristics of your target population.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
How many people does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?
Current number being served – 6000
Number to be served in a year – 10,000
Number to be served in 5 years – 60,000
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
Number of community health professionals (CHPs) trained and equipped with the digital tool.
Number of virtual doctors recruited.
Percentage of CHPs who consult physicians through the application.
Referrals made by CHPs.
Number of pregnant women managed for communicable diseases through our Digital Maternal Health Program.
Number of pregnant women managed for non-communicable diseases through our Digital Maternal Health Program.
Number of pregnant women who have safely given birth through our Digital Maternal Health Program.
Proportion of women and children who have completed their multi vial dose vaccines.
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
How many people work on your solution team?
9 full time staff
How long have you been working on your solution?
2 years
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
The core MobiKlinic administration comprises of 2 public health professionals, 3 doctors, a lawyer, software developer and 2 accountants. Our founder and CEO largely grew up in a rural community in Uganda and has experienced difficulty in accessing healthcare firsthand. This greatly motivated him to start the MobiKlinic initiative with the vision of revolutionizing access to healthcare. All team members in their different backgrounds are united by this vision and complement each other and tirelessly work together to ensure that this vision is attained.
What is your approach to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership team?
Diversity: At MobiKlinic we acknowledge that people are different and do not discriminate against anyone but rather take advantage of diversity to come up with solutions that will be of benefit to the people that we serve.
Equity: MobiKlinic is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate anyone based on religion, race, gender, social economic status among other demographic factors. Everyone is given a genuine opportunity to flourish and develop.
Inclusion: Our solution was designed with the underserved population in mind. We believe that to no one can understand a problem better than the community members who reside in the rural areas that we serve. Rural residents were not left out in the development of our solution but rather participated and freely gave their views regarding the solution before it was rolled out.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)Why are you applying to Solve?
Our solution is in line with the health security and pandemic challenge area of the Solve challenge. Barriers we require assistance with include the need for developing a business model. Provision of health services at a cost in rural areas can be challenging due to the general low economic status of the people there. We often face a challenge raising funds through this means. We therefore believe that the experienced and knowledgeable team at Solve will help us in drafting a business model that will help us in our sustainability in the long run.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Please explain in more detail here.
We require assistance in fine tuning our business model as well as linking us to potential investors and providing us with tips before reaching out to those potential investors.
What organizations would you like to partner with, and how would you like to partner with them?
We are open to partner with organizations that have an interest in utilizing community health to increase healthcare access in rural areas especially now in this pandemic period. Assistance to us could be provided through exchange of knowledge and expertise as well as funding.
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
No, I do not wish to be considered for this prize, even if the prize funder is specifically interested in my solution
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
No, I do not wish to be considered for this prize, even if the prize funder is specifically interested in my solution
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for the Innovation for Women Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
Yes, I wish to apply for this prize
Explain how you are qualified for this prize. How will your team use the Innovation for Women Prize to advance your solution?
The target population of our solution is women and girls in rural areas. The solution seeks to improve their quality of life by bringing health services that they need at their doorsteps. Women especially when pregnant find themselves among the vulnerable people in the population. With our solution however, pregnant women no longer need to worry about long distances to facilities and accessing antenatal care because through our mobile community health professionals they can access these services.
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for The AI for Humanity Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
No, I do not wish to be considered for this prize, even if the prize funder is specifically interested in my solution
Do you qualify for and would you like to be considered for The Global Fund Prize? If you select Yes, explain how you are qualified for the prize in the additional question that appears.
Yes
Explain how you are qualified for this prize. How will your team use The Global Fund Prize to advance your solution?
Community health workers are at the center of our solution. The digital tool they are equipped with has the potential to be utilized to track vaccines that have been administered to patients as well as remind them which patients are due for their next vaccination thus ensuring vaccine utilization in rural areas.
Solution Team
-
Mr ANDREW DDEMBE DDEMBE MOBIKLINIC UGANDA
-
AK
to Top
Solution Name:
MobiKlinic eHealth Initiative