HERA Digital Health

Solution Pitch 

The Problem

HERA Digital Health focuses on connecting refugees with existing local health care and securing medical records in one place digitally. Health in fragile contexts are usually chaotic and disconnected, and HERA aims to streamline health care needs into one app to be utilized 24/7. When HERA accomplished this, it created health security for refugees.

The Solution

HERA (Health Records App) is a free open-sourced mobile health (mHealth) platform that aims at increasing the uptake of preventive health services for pregnant women, and immunization for children under two years of age. The mobile app platform enables users to receive health care appointment reminders, receive health information, store centralized medical records, contact emergency services, and navigate the healthcare system of the host country in multiple languages. The app provides pertinent health care for women, pregnant women (prenatal care) and children.

Stats

• Since September 2023, there have been 10,000 downloads of the app, of which 4,500 are active users.
• HERA has notified over 1,000 individuals about vaccine appointments, helped over 940 users, viewed nearby health centers, and has been used 130 times to call emergency services.

Market Opportunity

The primary market for HERA are displaced individuals residing or fleeing to Turkey. Secondary markets are those displaced by the earthquakes.

Organization Highlights

HERA’s current partnerships are with:

• UNHCR
• Doctors Without Borders
• Save The Children
• Support to Life
• The Ministry of Health, Turkey, which helps provide data on refugees, and assists in aligning HERA’s mission to the national and regional requirements.
• HERA and its sister partner MEDAK, an emergency response team, operate in Turkey facilitating outreach and data collection.

Past HERA supporters include: FFWD, Harvard Innovation Labs, Project Galileo (Cloud Fair Case study), Sentry For Good, Sivil Toplum Destek Vakfi (Support Foundation for Civil Society), Health Innovation and Technology Lab, MassChallenge, and Watson Institute.

Partnership Goals

HERA Digital Health seeks:

• Assistance in expanding staffing, resources and its app’s capabilities to respond to greater challenges in Turkey including refugee needs but also other displaced people.  
• Collaboration with experts specializing in monitoring and evolving impact over the next five years, allowing us to develop and strengthen our data story visually and strengthen our metrics visibility.