Australian supported ‘Liga Inan’ maternal health program to launch in Aileu District

Australian supported ‘Liga Inan’ maternal health program to launch in Aileu District

4 February 2015

The Australian Government continues to support a successful mobile phone-based service called ‘Liga Inan’ (Tetun for ‘connecting mothers’) for better maternal and child health outcomes in Timor-Leste, contributing just over AUD$860,000 to the program in 2014-15. The objective of this innovative program is to ensure more pregnant women deliver their babies with a skilled health professional.

An information meeting was held in Aileu District on 4 February 2015, prior to the roll-out of the program there in March, to raise people’s awareness of ‘Liga Inan’. The Aileu District and Sub-district Administrators, director and staff from the District Health Service (DHS), local school principals, police officers and NGOs attended the meeting.

‘Liga Inan’, managed directly by Health Alliance International (HAI) and IT company Catalpa, uses SMS mobile phone technology to connect pregnant women in remote areas with their local midwife. It is already in operation in Manufahi and Liquica Districts. The Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, HAI, and the Australian Government are working together to implement ‘Liga Inan’ across all 13 districts in Timor-Leste.

Through ‘Liga Inan’, midwives enter a pregnant woman’s details into a system and they are then contacted twice a week via SMS with information and announcements. Mothers can ask questions during their pregnancy by asking a midwife to call them back. Midwives are alerted when a mother’s due date approaches so they can call to check the mother and her family are prepared.