by MARY ITUMBI
In July, the Kenya AIDS Control Project started using the Pumwani Hospital as a site to study the potential of following up with HIV positive patients using mobile phones.
The phone contact is intended to make sure that mothers are keeping up with taking their antiretroviral medicines and stay informed on what they need to do during their pregnancy to reduce the risk of passing the virus on to their child.
Mobile phones have become a popular means of communication in Kenya. The recent lowering of costs by the various service providers is encouraging even more people to embrace the mobile phone.
Pediatrician, Frida Govedi, the Chief Executive Officer of Pumwani Maternity Hospital, says, “through this telephony they are being empowered with information. How they should eat, when they should take their vitamins, when they should come for their CD4 counts, it is an interactive medium between the mother and the healthcare worker.”
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