Here’s another great use of mobile technology in emerging markets. New parents are able to register newborn babies via SMS in Africa!
As you may guess, newborn babies are unfortunately a bit of a blind spot in Africa’s poorest nations. Both parents and governments have tough time in keeping check of the population. Enter mobile technology, which wants to satisfy the government’s need to keep track of the population number, while at the same time providing benefits to the new parents.
Parents should simply text: “Family Name” to predefined phone number and a birth certificate will be created. On its first visit, a health care worker will bring the mentioned certificate along with a basic baby-kit. Moreover, when the parents and their baby are in the database, they will receive text messages with helpful information about parenthood, how much their baby should weigh, eat, sleep, and will also have a link to UNICEF and baby healthcare information. It’s a win-win situation and I love it! 🙂