Andy Cameron, late of this parish, sent me some info on a project he's been working on with Mint Digital. It's a pro bono project so we're happy to help get the word out.

You know Tom's Shoes – buy a pair of shoes and donate a pair to a child in the developing world? Well this is the smartphone equivalent. If you buy a phone from ladyblabla.co.uk you help donate a smartphone – the HTC Sensation + internet data contract – to a health worker in southern Africa who uses it to improve the quality of healthcare and to save lives.

They''re collaborating with mothers2mothers who work in seven southern African countries to help pregnant women living with HIV. The idea is to help them prevent HIV transmission to their unborn babies. It's all about keeping precise medical data about each patient. The HTC Sensation runs android apps that connect back to the central database and means health workers have accurate and up-to-date information at their fingertips – much better than the scrappy paper records in broken filing cabinets they used before.

Here's the story:

ladyblabla, a new phone comparison website aimed at increasing smartphone use among women (and men too) today announced a collaboration with mothers2mothers (m2m) based in Cape Town.  

 Ladyblabla will help provide smartphones to m2m Mentor Mothers working with pregnant women living with HIV to reduce the chances of HIV transmission to unborn babies. The campaign will launch March 1^st.

 Risk reduction programmes are effective – but complicated. Many women with HIV lead difficult lives with little access to information or resources. m2m employs and trains former patients – mothers living with HIV – as Mentor Mothers to work with pregnant women and help them stay on the programme.

 The HTC Sensation smartphones and internet connected mobile apps give Mentor Mothers accurate up-to-date information about their patients. “When was the last time someone came to a support group? When is their baby due? What drug do they take? When should their baby’s test results be available? Having all this information immediately available means I can help save more lives,” says Thandeka who works for m2m.

 Andy Cameron adds: We think everyone deserves to benefit from the smartphone revolution. We’re proud to help m2m with the extraordinary work they’re doing in 7 countries across Africa. Every contract phone sold via ladyblabla pays for a smartphone and internet data connection for one month for an m2m Mentor Mother working in the field – a month of high quality, hi-tech medical support which helps reduce mother to child transmission and save lives."

 Mentor Mother Thandeka explains more: "Hi, my name is Thandeka and I work at mothers2mothers in Johannesburg, South Africa, helping pregnant women have HIV free babies and live healthy lives. I understand what they’re going through – I’m a mother living with HIV myself.  My job is to help women do all they can to reduce transmission – attend clinic regularly, keep up with their medication and monitor test results. There’s a lot of detail to manage, which is why smartphones would make our jobs easier. But we need your help.

 "Like many of the women I talk to, I was shocked when I found out I had HIV. I had a hard time accepting it.  When I became pregnant I knew that I needed help.  I joined a program to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and eventually gave birth to my beautiful, HIV-negative daughter. That’s when I found mothers2mothers.  They were looking for someone to open a new site in my town.  Being a role model to other young women has been a dream come true. I give education and support to those who need it the most.

 "With a smartphone I can do even more. I can be more effective in keeping track of the women and babies that I help. I can have accurate up-to-date information at my finger tips.  When was the last time someone came to a support group?  When is their baby due?  What drugs do they take?  When should their baby’s test results be available?  Having all this information immediately available means I can save more lives.  And better information means we at mothers2mothers can figure out how to do our jobs better.  I can share information with our Head Office, so they can figure out how to reach more women or stay in touch with the ones who move or don’t come in to clinic often. 

 "The number of AIDS orphans in Africa is very high, and there is absolutely no reason for this.  With the right tools, we can make a difference!"

 In summary:

For every phone contract bought via ladyblabla.co.uk, ladyblabla will pay for a smartphone and data contract for a Mentor Mother like Thandeka for one month. 12 sales will cover the costs of one smartphone and data contract for a year.

 This means a Mentor Mother will be better able to help pregnant women living with HIV maintain a risk reduction programme giving them and their babies a better chance for a healthy life.

It costs you nothing, but it’s worth a great deal.

Smartphones really can save lives.