Date:
Location:
Talk Title: Leveraging technology to create scalable solutions in maternal and child health in India: the ARMMAN story
Speaker: Aparna Hegde, MD, DNB, FCPS, DGO, MS
ARMMAN is an India-based non-profit leveraging mHealth technology to create scalable, cost-effective, equity-based and gender-transformative, non-linear, systemic solutions to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in India. Our integrated 360 degree approach leverages deep mobile penetration to provide weekly preventive care information to women so they demand better care during pregnancy and infancy, along with training health workers at every level of the health system in early identification, referral, and timely treatment of risk factors, resulting in improved health outcomes. We create at-scale programs with proven impact by using our unique “tech plus touch” model and building enduring partnerships (with national and state governments, partner NGOs and health facilities) that leverage existing health worker networks and health infrastructure. We are currently moving on to a “fit for purpose approach” where women and children will receive targeted interventions and greater handholding (via multimedia approaches and 2-way communication) depending on their technology access, high risk condition, and multiple types of exclusion experienced based on gender, class, race, caste and migrant status.
We are currently implementing the largest mobile-based maternal messaging program and the largest mobile-based training program for health workers in the world (Kilkari and Mobile Academy respectively) in partnership with the Government of India and are working on the augmented versions of the programs which include a system strengthening component, along with enhanced multimedia content, expanded delivery channels (like WhatsApp), two-way communication and long-term handholding. The Integrated High-Risk Pregnancy Tracking and Management Program (IHRPTM), in partnership with the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments, trains and supports all the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives, Medical Officers and Specialist Doctors in the states for early identification and management of high-risk conditions, with plans to scale to more states. Interventions implemented by ARMMAN have reached over 47 million women and their children and trained 367,000 health workers in 21 states till date, with plans to expand pan-India to reach 70 million women and their children and train 850,000 health workers in the next 3 to 5 years.
The talk will cover the journey towards building a home-grown, scaled, tech-based non-profit and achieving scale and describe how AI has been incorporated into our programing to improve program efficiency and outcomes.
Dr. Aparna Hegde is a Stanford and Cleveland Clinic trained, internationally renowned Urogynecologist. She is the founder of NGO ARMMAN, which creates scalable mhealth based programs to impact maternal and child health in India. ARMMAN’s five programs have collectively reached over 46 million women and their children and trained over 361,000 health workers in 22 states of India.
Dr. Hegde is also Associate Professor (Hon) and founding Head of the Department of Urogynecology at Cama Hospital, Mumbai, India’s first University-based Center of Excellence in the field with an upcoming fellowship program. Dr. Hegde is Chair of FIUGA, the foundation arm of IUGA (International Urogynecology Association) and Chair of Publication Committee of IUGA and member of the Editorial Board of International Urogynecology Journal. Dr. Hegde is an accomplished researcher, an NIH grantee, and a pioneer in the field of 2D/3D pelvic floor ultrasound with over 75 abstracts/publications.
Dr. Hegde was featured in Fortune magazine’s 50 Greatest World Leaders 2021 at the 15th spot, one of only two Indians on the list. She was awarded the ‘Women Transforming India award’ by NITI Aayog in 2022, Senior Ashoka fellowship in 2021, and TED Fellowship in 2020. She was also awarded USAID ‘Social Entrepreneur’ award (2018), ‘Woman ChangeMaker’ award (Womanity Foundation, Geneva, 2017), ‘People’s Choice Award’ at Saving Lives at Birth event (Washington DC, 2011), among other awards. She has been featured as one of the five global women leaders in the Voice of America documentary, ‘A Single Step: Journeys of Women Leaders’ (2015). She was also be awarded the Fellowship of the Sri Lankan Menopause Society in 2019 for contributions made to develop Urogynecology in Sri Lanka. ARMMAN was awarded the Kenneth Frazier award for maternal health equity in 2023, the prestigious Co-Impact grant for system strengthening in 2022, the Skoll award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2020, the British Medical Journal South Asia Award for ‘Maternal & Child Health Team’ (2018), WHO Public Health Champion Award (2017) etc.