Imagine a nurse in a remote African village trying to track a pregnant woman's health using paper files — easy to lose, hard to share, impossible to analyze. This project built a mobile health app that lets healthcare workers record patient data, run standard medical tests with connected sensors, and see results visualized on a phone or tablet — all in the local language. It was tested across four African countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa) in real clinics with real patients. Think of it as a digital doctor's assistant designed for places where smartphones exist but hospital IT systems don't.
Maternal and newborn mortality remains critically high in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely because community healthcare workers in rural areas rely on paper records, have no way to share patient data, and lack tools to properly monitor pregnancies. Clinics in these regions need a digital system that works on mobile devices, handles multiple local languages, connects to diagnostic sensors, and is simple enough for workers with limited technical training.
The team built an open-source, multilingual mobile health platform that integrates electronic health records, medical sensor data capture, analytical visualization tools, and speech-based interfaces for low-literacy users. Concrete deliverables include a piloted patient records system tested across 4 African countries, a functioning user interface for clinic healthcare workers, and a video demonstration of the final system.
If you are an mHealth company looking to enter African maternal care markets — this project developed an open-source, multilingual patient records platform piloted across 4 African countries. It integrates sensor data, electronic health records, and speech synthesis for low-literacy users. The platform was tested in urban, rural, and deep rural settings with real healthcare workers.
If you are a diagnostics company that makes portable sensors for maternal and infant health — this project built an integrated system connecting sensors to a mobile platform that captures and visualizes test results at the point of care. It was piloted across 4 countries with 9 consortium partners. Your hardware could plug into this open-source ecosystem to reach clinics that lack traditional lab infrastructure.
If you are an organization running maternal healthcare programs and struggling with paper-based records and data gaps — this project created a multilingual electronic health records system with built-in training modules, designed specifically for community health workers. It was piloted in real clinics across Malawi, South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia with input from local communities and Ministries of Health.
The platform was developed as open source, meaning there are no licensing fees for the core software. Your costs would be integration, customization for your specific use case, local language additions, and sensor hardware. With EUR 2 million invested in development across 9 partners, the R&D has already been funded by the EU.
The platform was designed as a multi-region proof of concept and tested in 4 African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa) covering urban, rural, and deep rural settings. Its multilingual and multimodal design — including speech synthesis for low-literacy users — was built specifically to scale across diverse African contexts. Scaling would require local adaptation and partnerships with national health systems.
The platform is open source, developed by a consortium of 9 partners across 8 countries. This means you can build on it, adapt it, and integrate it. Specific sensor integrations or custom modules developed by individual partners may have separate terms — contact the coordinator IIMC International Information Management Corporation in Ireland for details.
The system was built to handle patient records including medical history, test results, and maternal health data. Based on available project data, it was designed for use with Ministries of Health as end-user partners. Compliance with specific regulations like GDPR or local African health data laws would need to be verified for each deployment country.
The project ran from November 2015 to April 2019, producing a piloted patient records system with demonstrated UI functionality. A deployment based on the existing pilot could be adapted for a new country or context in months rather than years, since the core platform, sensor integrations, and training modules already exist.
The platform runs on mobile devices (phones and tablets) and connects to medical sensors for standard maternal and infant health tests. It was designed for settings with limited connectivity and infrastructure. Based on available project data, it uses multimodal mobile interfaces to work even in deep rural areas.
The consortium brings together 9 partners from 8 countries — a deliberate mix of 3 European technology providers and 6 African institutions. With 6 universities and 2 industry partners (both SMEs), this is a research-heavy team that relied on academic and local community expertise for co-design. The coordinator, IIMC International Information Management Corporation, is an Irish SME specializing in information management. The 22% industry ratio is low, which means commercialization would benefit from stronger private-sector partnerships. The geographic spread across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa gives the platform real credibility for pan-African deployment, but a business partner looking to scale would need to bring distribution and commercial muscle that this consortium lacks.
IIMC International Information Management Corporation Ltd, Ireland — an SME specializing in information management for development contexts
Want an introduction to the mHealth4Afrika team? SciTransfer can connect you with the coordinator and help you evaluate integration or licensing options for your market.
