Wazazi Nipendeni Text Messaging

Wazazi Nipendeni (Love me, parents) is a national, multi-channel social and behavior change communication campaign in Tanzania that aims to empower pregnant women and their partners to take the steps necessary for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery.

As part of the campaign, there was a text message service developed by the mHealth Tanzania Partnership. All radio spots, TV spots, print and outdoor materials encourage listeners and viewers to send a free text message to a dedicated short-message-service (SMS) number to receive more information on healthy pregnancy. A set of initial introductory questions allows users to register as pregnant women, mothers of newborns, birth supporters, or general information seekers, and establish the date of pregnancy or age of the newborn, where relevant. Users then receive information, tips, and reminders timed to the week/month of pregnancy or age of the baby. Subscribers receive an average 3-4 messages/week across a number of safe motherhood topic areas. The service is free of charge for users across all mobile networks.

Photo: Pregnant women and their partners enroll in the Wazazi Nipendeni SMS service during the campaign launch in Mwanza.

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Tanzania Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Reproductive and Child Health Section (MOHSW-RCHS)

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019