Saving Maternal and Infant Lives with Affordable Technology

In Pakistan, the rate of maternal mortality is 267 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, which is one of the highest rates in the world. Key reason for the high rate of maternal mortality in Pakistan are low use of antenatal care and weak referral systems for early diagnosis and treatment of complications during birth.

The United States Agency of International Development proposed introducing and evaluating a new technology- Telereferral- which provides expectant mothers with inexpensive, remote access to screenings by medical specialists at tertiary hospitals. Therefore, it increases the quality and speed of diagnosing 3^rd trimester complications and enhancing referrals that reduce the endemic high perinatal and maternal mortality rates in rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan.

By exploiting the ability of cellular technology to transfer large amounts of data at low cost, such as sonogram images and other diagnostic readings, Telereferral provides expectant mothers with affordable access to specialist services in rural areas of Pakistan. The Zahanat Foundation collaborated with Georgia State University, International Center for Public Policy to incorporate state of the art experimental methods in project implementation and seek capacity building for policy adoption of this new technology.

		Musharraf Cyan Research Assistant Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Reform, Development Planning
		Jorge Martinez-Vasquez Regents Professor of Economics/Director ICePP Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy
		Richard Rothenberg Regents’ Professor, Associate Dean Epidemiology & Biostatistics Area of Expertise: Infectious Diseases , Epidemiology , STDs, HIV