Negative effects of climate change are predicted to intensify as the world continues to warm up, and in efforts to alert pregnant women – and mothers of infants – to dangerously high temperatures, the Department of Health is piloting a scheme which combines data from the SA Weather Service with its MomConnect app.
MomConnect is being used by more than 422 500 women who receive targeted SMS and WhatsApp messages based on the developmental stage of their foetus or child, reports Business Day.
Adverse health effects caused by climate change are expected to increase as global temperatures rise, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Consequently, SA would see more frequent floods, heat stress, water stress and wildfires, Elizabeth Leonard of the Clinton Health Access Initiative told delegates at the annual Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) conference this week.
Pregnant women and infants are particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures, she said, which raise the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth and low birthweight babies as well as dehydration and heat stroke in newborns. Additionally, climate change increases the chances of vector-borne diseases likes malaria.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative has provided funding to develop the software interface for the smart climate health early warning system piloted in two health districts in Limpopo. Discussions are under way to expand the scheme to other provinces.
A total of $3m has been provided the five-year project.
The SA Weather Service’s data on extreme temperatures, relative humidity, air quality, rainfall and wind speed, is combined with MomConnect data on each user’s location and the stage of their pregnancy or baby’s age.
Users receive customised alerts about weather warnings, how to adapt to extreme temperatures and when to head for a health facility.
Leonard said 95% of government clinics had registered women on MomConnect, all of whom had reported very high satisfaction rates. A total of 98.6% of the registered mothers said they would recommend the app to friends and family.
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