Project Name: HealthPhone
Organisation: IAP, MWCD, UNICEF & Vodafone
Project Location & Coverage Area: Pan India
Project URL: http://iap.healthphone.org
Area of intervention: Health

Today, nearly every second child in India is a victim of malnutrition. It means they are physically and mentally weak due to which they are targets of many ailments, deformities, disabilities and allergies affecting normal growth mentally and physically. IAP HealthPhone is a mobile-phone-based personal video reference library and guide to better health and nutrition practices, for families and communities. The videos can be pre-loaded on a microSD memory card to insert in basic mobile feature phones and have been created specifically with the illiterate in mind and in their language. The videos named under Poshan series have been developed by UNICEF & WCD to aim six million girls and women aged between 13 to 35 years by the year 2018. These videos are available in 18 languages. The Poshan videos address issues of status of women, the care of pregnant women and children under two, breastfeeding and the importance of a balanced diet, health and simple changes in nutritional care practices that can notably enhance nutrition levels.
Thus, mothers, pregnant women have direct access to knowledge, in rich multimedia, to learn, share, educate others and use at the time when they need to deal with a health problem, where they are, and as they are, without a connection or cost. Presently, the programme is equipping AWWs, ASHAs and ANMs with a HealthPhone microSD card, containing a library of videos, to enable them to share health & nutrition knowledge with women, families and the communities they serve.

Reach & Road Ahead

To kick start the programme, IAP has forged a unique partnership with Vodafone India to encourage the viewing of the four videos. Vodafone will enable its customers to view/download the videos free of data charges and on viewing the 4 videos, the user will receive a talk time incentive of INR 10. Vodafone will send out approximately 300 million text messages to its subscribers every year to promote the viewing of the four videos. It will also support IAP to undertake a comprehensive communication campaign to promote the IAP HealthPhone programme across the country via print and social media. IAP HealthPhone is expected to benefit the health of 60 million children in India born by 2025. In the next step, the programme will also partner with social media giants (such as Facebook, Twitter and Google) to use their exponentially growing channels to reach more – rural and urban – caregivers.