BBC Media Action wins Global Mobile Award for Kilkari – a mobile health service for mothers
27 February 2019
BBC Media Action took home their third #GLOMO award – this time for ‘Best mobile innovation for women in emerging markets’– for their maternal health service Kilkari.
The ‘GLOMOs’, which take place at the GSMA Mobile World Congress, are the most prestigious awards in the mobile industry .
“The GLOMOs are a testament to the incredible innovation and ingenuity shaping our industry and it is truly an outstanding achievement to have been selected by our esteemed judging panels.” – John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd.
Kilkari is the largest maternal messaging service in the world, designed by BBC Media Action to help new and expectant mothers in India have safer pregnancies, and to give new-born babies the best start in life.
Kilkari delivers insight-driven, carefully crafted audio messages about reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health directly to families’ mobile phones every week.
Narrated in five languages by a trusted and much-loved character called ‘Dr Anita,’ calls begin in a woman’s second trimester of pregnancy and continue for 72 weeks – right through until the child is one year old.
Launched by the Digital India Mission in January 2016, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – in collaboration with BBC Media Action and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and the Barr Foundation – has scaled Kilkari to 13 states. Over 8.95 million subscribers have been reached – with 181 million calls answered and 183 million minutes of life-saving content played, helping keep families and babies healthy.
“This innovation has demonstrated proven impact in a space with a lot of pilots, but not many able to show scale and sustainability.” – GLOMO Judging panel