AMEN: Personalised mHealth Maternal Nutritional Education for Equitable Nutritional Access and Improved Maternal and Offspring Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Challenge:SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- Co-Funders:Irish Aid
- Phase:Seed
- Team Lead:Assistant Prof. Catherine Phillips, University College Dublin
- Partner Country Team Lead:Prof. Livhuwani Muthelo, University of Limpopo, South Africa
- Team Co-Lead:Prof. Fionnuala McAuliffe, University College Dublin
- Societal Impact Champion:Dr Tumiso Malatji, Department of Health, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Funders
Co-funded by: Irish Aid
Maternal nutrition is a critical determinant of both maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Both undernutrition and obesity are linked to pregnancy complications and increased risk of adverse outcomes. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) carries one of the highest burdens of maternal mortality globally. Educational and socioeconomic barriers limit pregnant women’s access to adequate nutrition, leading to increased maternal and neonatal mortality rates. Pregnant women in SSA are at particular nutritional risk as a result of poverty, food insecurity, political and economic instabilities, frequent infections, closely spaced pregnancies and fragile health systems. Poor nutrition, a lack of knowledge about nutritional requirements, and restrictive cultural food practices, can lead to adverse health outcomes in both mothers and children. These challenges are exacerbated by weak health education systems and under-resourced healthcare services in rural areas. Nutritional and health promotion interventions are crucial in addressing MCH issues, including morbidity and mortality.
We propose a mobile health (mHealth) intervention to deliver maternal nutrition counselling and education to pregnant women in rural communities. The co-designed context-specific and culturally-sensitive mHealth digital solution (app) will offer personalised nutritional guidance, including content on food hygiene, safe storage, pregnancy supplementation, and locally relevant healthy recipes. Content will reflect national dietary guidelines, feature locally available foods, and be delivered in local languages for greater accessibility. This solution adopts a holistic and community-anchored approach to address structural, environmental and technological barriers. By integrating community mobilisation, digital innovation, and nutritional education, this intervention aims to improve dietary knowledge, promote behavioural change, expand equitable access to nutritious food, and empower pregnant women’s decision-making autonomy, thereby improving maternal dietary quality and reducing the risk of adverse MCH outcomes.