Vodacom and Mondia launch Mum & Baby health service in Lesotho

Vodacom and m-commerce company Mondia have launched their free Mum & Baby maternal health service in Lesotho.

The mobile service provider will roll the service across the African nation from this month.

“Mum & Baby is our flagship health and wellness brand focusing on motherhood,” EHOD of Consumer Business and Customer Value at Vodacom, Ts’epo Thabisi, said in a statement.

“We are proud of the way in which it contributes to our vision of building communities, bringing health solutions to more lives and promoting good health outcomes.”

What is Mum & Baby?

Mum & Baby is a mobile health service that provides subscribers with maternal, neonatal, and child health information.

The service offers a library of content including videos and expert articles and operates an information-sharing SMS message system.

The service also offers interactive material such as a due-date calculator, immunisation calendar, medication reminders, and medicine safety information.

It also includes a rewards programme that lets subscribers earn vouchers and music.

“The value of this partnership is now more critical than ever, with Lesotho’s infant mortality rate – which is one of the highest in the world – having been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in people avoiding medical services for fear of exposure to the virus,” Mondia Digital CEO, Paolo Rizzardini said.

“As a result, initiatives that put the power of good health directly in people’s hands remain immeasurably important.”

Launched in South Africa in 2017, Mum & Baby had almost two million registered subscribers as of August 2021.

In a KPMG survey, 95% of respondents said they found the service’s SMS messages helpful.

In addition, 98% of pregnant women and mothers surveyed said they took action to improve their child’s health as a result of the service.

The service is available on the Lesotho Mum & Baby website. It is available in both English and Sesotho.

Read more: South Africans to get digital vaccine certificates

Featured image: Supplied