Burkina Faso: "Mon enfant grandit" (My child is growing up) app for the health of children aged 0-5

The official launch ceremony for the "Mon enfant grandit" mobile application took place in Ouagadougou on Thursday, November 28, 2024. This application will help to strengthen families' knowledge of behaviors that are favorable to the development and fulfillment of children aged 0 to 5. It will also promote child survival and optimal development.

According to the WHO, for every 1,000 live births in Burkina Faso, 79 children will die before reaching their 5th birthday. It is therefore urgent to act. The "Mon enfant grandit" (My child is growing up) application is the answer to lowering these figures. It contains information drawn from national and international recommendations on child development, including advice on stimulation, safety, nutrition, malaria, and emergency and routine health care. It is aimed at parents and adults in charge of young children, as well as healthcare personnel. The application is free and ad-free. To reach as many Burkinabè as possible, the language is simple (with many illustrations). The navigation mode is simplified. There is a voice option to read the selected text in local languages such as Mooré, Dioula, Fulfuldé, Gourmantché, Bissa, etc.

A team effort

The "Mon enfant grandit" application was developed by the NGO Enfants du monde Suisse in partnership with the Ministry of Healththe Private and Community Initiative for Health and the Fight against HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso (IPC/BF), Terre Innovative Healthcare, Incub@UO and Joseph Ki-Zerbo University.

In his speech at the official launch ceremony, the Minister of Health, Robert Lucien Jean Claude Kargougou, announced that the application would initially be rolled out in the health districts of Koupou and Koupou.e in the health districts of Koupéla, Pouytenga, Zabré, Tenkodogo, Bittou, Garango, Ouargaye, Mangodara, Nongre-Massom, Boulmiougou, Kossodo, Baskuy and Sig-Noghin. More than 17,000 mothers of children aged 0-5 and over 8,500 other community members will be reached. It will then be gradually rolled out to all 13 regions of Burkina Faso.

The Minister for Digital Transition, Aminata Zerbo/Sabané, stressed that the Mon enfant grandit app "is an innovation that will reinforce the Ministry of Health's awareness-raising actions.

"This application is part of the dematerialization drive we're currently engaged in. It will make it possible to dematerialize awareness campaigns and information for parents. It's also a fine illustration of digital technology, because it's an application that targets people living in rural areas. Especially as it includes audio in local languages," she says, delighted.

The app can be downloaded free of charge from the Google play.

It follows on from the "My baby and me" app, which provides the right information on pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Both apps can be used without an Internet connection once downloaded.

The NGO Enfants du Monde Suisse has been active in Burkina Faso for over 30 years. It is currently running several projects to improve maternal and child health and primary education.

Source: lefaso.net/