By Emma Elebeke

In an apparent move to curb the alarming rate of pregnancy and childbirth related deaths through technology, Intel Corporation in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently  unveiled a joint effort to strengthen the skills of midwives and community health workers.

The move, according to Intel is aimed at reducing the number of pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths across the world.

The joint team headed by the leader of UNFPA delegation and Nigeria’s former Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, is expected to increase the capacity of health workers around the world through software and technical assistance provided by Intel Corporation, and wider availability of higher-quality education through training and materials from UNFPA.

Director of global health care for the World Ahead Program at Intel, Mike Gann, said that the world’s largest chipmaker under the agreement will build on its commitment to the UN Every Woman, Every Child initiative to help train one million frontline health workers by 2015, under the Intel 1Mx15 Health project.

The UNFPA-Intel initiative is programmed to use an existing health care education platform to provide open access multi-media content delivery in an “anytime, anywhere” capacity.

It will be recalled that a recent study by the UN shows that an estimated 360,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth, annually and up to two million babies die within the first 24 hours of life, largely because of a lack of access to properly trained health workers.

The content delivery and assessment platform will train midwives and other health-care workers.
As part of efforts to realize the goal, the Intel Director said it will also work with various governments to help increase the availability, affordability and usage of technology, while UNFPA, on its part, will develop the training content with relevant partners and professional organizations. The agency will also engage stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and multiplier effect of the programme.

“By increasing the accessibility and affordability of information communications technology solutions, we would be able to equip the workforce with the correct tools to improve women and children’s health,” said Gann.

On his part, the director of UNFPA’s technical division, Werner Haug said “With this innovative collaboration, we are putting game-changing technology into the hands of the people who are saving the lives of women and newborns around the world.”

“UNFPA is inspired by Intel’s commitment and we look forward to strengthening the work for safe motherhood,” he added.

The programme will pilot in countries with high rates of maternal and newborn deaths.