Two health technology organisations, eHealth Africa and Jacaranda Health, have officially launched an artificial intelligence-powered maternal health messaging platform in Kano State, targeting an initial 25,000 mothers with timely pregnancy and postpartum health information delivered directly to their mobile phones.

The platform, known as PROMPTS — Promoting Mothers in Pregnancy and Postpartum Through SMS — was unveiled on Tuesday and is designed to deliver personalised health information aligned with national clinical protocols in both Hausa and English, enabling mothers to ask questions, receive tailored responses, and access reliable guidance throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.

The launch marks the expansion of PROMPTS from Kenya, where the platform has already reached more than 3.8 million mothers, into Nigeria, with Kano State serving as the entry point given the state’s significant maternal health burden.

Under the partnership, eHealth Africa will lead the local adaptation and operational rollout of the platform in Nigeria, drawing on its experience implementing data-driven health programmes across the country. Jacaranda Health, as the platform’s developer and global steward, will oversee its AI capabilities and ongoing product innovation.

Speaking at the launch, Nigerian Representative and Strategic Technical Advisor for Jacaranda Health, Dr. Ufuoma Omo-Obi, said the partnership with eHealth Africa was central to the initiative’s prospects for success.

“For both Jacaranda Health and eHealth Africa, Kano represents one of the strongest opportunities to demonstrate impact, especially given the state’s maternal health burden and the urgent need to address maternal mortality,” he said.

“The fact that eHealth Africa is based here, has strong networks, is well connected with the government, and is a learning organisation makes this an important opportunity not just to implement, but also to learn and demonstrate impact,” he added.

Jamil Galadanci, a Senior Manager with eHealth Africa’s Global Health Informatics division, highlighted the deliberate design choice to build the platform around SMS technology to overcome the barrier of limited internet access in underserved communities.

“We understand that it is one thing to build and deploy a technology solution, and another thing entirely to successfully onboard end users and ensure they are able to use it effectively. The solution was deliberately designed as an SMS-based solution in order to avoid the limitations of internet access,” he said.

The EHA Reach clinic will also enrol eligible mothers through its Reach Everyone with Accessible Community Healthcare programme. Programme Manager Aminu Ayuba described the launch as a bold step toward reducing maternal and infant mortality.

“We are excited to once again use technology to bridge the gap between healthcare and the people that need it,” he said.

Receiving the innovation at the Gwagwarwa Primary Healthcare facility in Kano, the state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, expressed enthusiasm about the platform’s potential contribution to the state’s zero maternal mortality ambition.

“The introduction of PROMPTS is another big opportunity for Kano and a major boost to the Crush Maternal Mortality programme. We have taken it so seriously that our goal is to crush maternal mortality and ensure that no woman suffers or loses her life during pregnancy, labour, delivery, or the post-delivery period,” he said.

The commissioner also called on husbands and communities to ensure that eligible women participated in the programme, describing it as very important in safeguarding the health of pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Both organisations said they remain committed to measuring the platform’s impact and refining it based on feedback from mothers, healthcare workers, and health system stakeholders as implementation progresses.