Omomi app seeks to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health

Tackling the high rate of child mortality, especially among infants below 5 years is one of the reasons for launching Omomi app, the developers told HealthNewsNG.com.

According to Dr. Emmanuel Owobu, co-founder of MobiCure, developers of the app, Omomi which means ‘my child’ in Yoruba language, is an easy-to-use mobile application to help mothers keep their children healthy.

He said: "It is the very first app worldwide that focuses on fulfilling all of the WHO Childhood Survival Strategies - which were developed to help reduce child mortality and promote maternal health. By harnessing all the Childhood Survival Strategies, it has created an easy avenue for parents and caregivers to cater for the health needs of their children by providing a platform for them to easily monitor their children's growth and nutritional status, remember routine immunization visits, provide a repository of very vital health information, as well as help them handle some common childhood ailments like diarrhea."

According to him, the app provides an online mothers community where mothers can interact with other mothers and share ideas and experiences; in that process, he said they can learn from each other.  

"The app also gives useful tips on breast feeding, food supplementation and family planning," he told HealthNewsNG.com.

He said the app was born out of his passion for technology with focus on combining it with his medical profession. 

"I can’t really pick out a particular inspiring moment, being able to work with brilliant co-founders so far has been inspiring in itself," he said.

Other co-founders are Dr Charles Akhimien and Raman Anurag, an engineer.

Even though the app is still in its beta phase since its launch on February 21st, he said it had been well accepted.

He said: "The response has been amazing, and we currently have over 900+ downloads on the Google Play Store. We’ve also been featured on reputable websites and blogs."

Although the app is only available for Android devices, he said plans are underway to launch Windows devices and other platforms.

"It is currently only on the android play store but there is work currently in progress to bring it to Windows mobile platform. Also, in the near future we hope to get it on all other platforms like the iOS and the Blackberry," he said.

He said the key features to look out for are the immunization section, growth monitoring section, the oral rehydration (aka diarrhea management) section and the breastfeeding section. 

"Also, especially fun is the mother’s community," he said.

In the coming years, he said technology would be making much impact on healthcare.

He said: "Technology especially mobile tech is definitely going to help improve quality health access to all. For the first time in history, recent figures have shown smartphones are outselling feature and basic phones. This speaks huge volumes to how rapidly Africa is developing the mobile technology scene. It’s a huge pride that am part of a team pioneering mhealth aka mobile technology in health, in Africa. I see Africa in the next 5 years as being very ‘smart’ in healthcare delivery."