With partner Viamo, Jhpiego initiated a mobile phone messaging service for women in Afghanistan in response to disrupted health services and travel restrictions. This innovative solution aims to support women who are either pregnant or postpartum to access and engage with content that promotes self-care behaviors. After they register, they receive an automated call each week and can select the content they are most interested in.
“For the first time in my life, I understood the importance of exclusive breastfeeding,” said Shafiqua, a 26-year-old mother in Afghanistan who recently gave birth.
Increasingly tight restrictions on Afghan women’s education, employment and freedom of movement followed an August 2021 change in government. This makes self-care interventions, which the World Health Organization calls critical to achieving universal health coverage, all the more vital for ensuring that women like Shafiqua and their families get the quality care they need to thrive.
Read more about the messaging service here: https://www.jhpiego.org/story/helpline-for-healthy-mom-and-baby/
