News
New Web Applications Highlight Work of Midwives Around the World
- 18 June 2011
EXETER, England — Over a four-day weekend in April, an assorted mix of creative professionals and technology experts came together in a small room at the University of Exeter to build new web-based tools to highlight the work of midwives around the world. With laptops and caffeine in hand, this motley group of bright young minds sketched ideas and tested new applications in anticipation of the release of the inaugural State of the World’s Midwifery Report, which launches 20 June.
The report, which is the first comprehensive analysis of midwifery services and issues, will provide information gathered from 58 countries in all regions of the world. It is the product of months of rigorous data collection and statistical analysis by UNFPA and partners.
The goal of the Exeter data mash-up was to find ways to present information from the report in an innovative, appealing and easily accessible manner.
“We didn’t want to go the traditional route of just presenting the information in Excel,” remarked Alvaro Serrano, UNFPA’s Online Communication Manager. “The challenge was to use social media tools to engage people and raise awareness about what midwives are doing around the world.”
The mash-up marked a unique collaboration. Hosted by UNFPA, the Exeter-based social enterpise Forward 25 Careers, and Integrare, a Spanish research institute that promotes social cooperation and sustainable development, the meeting brought together 25 people from diverse companies and organizations, many of whom volunteered their time and expertise.
By the end of the four days, the team had developed a set of four interactive web tools, including a smart phone app for the android market and social media applications, through which users can learn about midwives and maternal health and share information across social networks. For example, a Facebook application interacts with users’ online profiles to demonstrate maternal and infant mortality by removing profiles of friends who may not have been born if they lived in certain countries where the risk of death during childbirth is high for mothers and infants alike.
A smart photo app developed for the android market works both as an online and mobile device. It presents information from the country profiles, enabling users to access the information in a user-friendly way, even in areas with no internet connections. An interactive mapping and reporting website, based on an open source platform called Ushahidi, allows viewers to view and send in reports about midwifery services by email, SMS and online.
Each day, 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. The majority live in developing countries, where severe poverty and the lack of adequate healthcare hinder women from getting the services they need to survive. Most maternal deaths are preventable, and midwives play a crucial role in saving the lives of mothers and infants. In all countries that have achieved dramatic improvements in maternal mortality, professionally trained midwives have been a critical factor in success.
