IVR Health Info for Maternal & Newborn Care in Rural Bangladesh

Project Background

Bangladesh has advanced maternal/child health, but maternal mortality is ~176/100,000 live births and neonatal ~30/1,000—two-thirds of under-five deaths—with first-month risk 4x higher, stressing pregnancy/birth/postnatal care.
Rural women face service gaps, low health literacy, gender norms, stigma, cultural beliefs; rural/poor disparities persist, worsened by COVID-19 disruptions. Traditional media falter in rural areas (94% have basic mobiles), so this project uses IVR/toll-free calls for stage-specific, evidence-based maternal/newborn info directly to women's phones.

Project Scope & Reach

220 rural villages nationwide, via local IVR partner; pregnant women/mothers of newborns (<6 months postpartum) with limited health info/services; primary care settings with low guideline awareness/uptake in remote/low-income areas.

Key research partners

Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES), Monash University; Khulna University; Univ. of Newcastle; local IVR implementation partner; GDRI as field research partner.

Funding & Support

Laerdal Foundation (proposed) for IVR modules, call-center, surveys, staff; in-kind from CDES/Monash for leadership/admin/contingency.

Roles of GDRI

Field Implementation and Community Engagement: Support listing/recruitment of pregnant women/new mothers; coordinate with leaders, health workers, IVR partner for enrolment/participation.
Data Collection and Monitoring: Conduct baseline/endline surveys, measure health use/knowledge/outcomes; monitor IVR/SMS/call-center usage with partner.
Data Management and Dissemination: Ensure data entry/cleaning/secure storage, share datasets; contribute to analysis, co-author reports/briefs/presentations for government/NGOs/donors on IVR maternal interventions.