Recently the Ministry of Health unveiled a new initiative to support expectant mothers named M-mama.
Before M-mama was unveiled, expectant mothers in the country had support from the Linda Mama initiative.
Thus, many wondered what the difference is between the two initiatives to support expectant mothers.
M-mama is an initiative that offers affordable emergency transport services to connect mothers and newborns to vital life-saving healthcare facilities.
It was launched in Kenya on June 21, 2023, by the Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID, Vodafone Foundation, Safaricom, and M-PESA Foundation.
M-mama provides emergency transport for expectant mothers facing complications to appropriate health facilities.
Where ambulances are rarely available, the M-mama system creates a network of local taxi drivers to act as ‘taxi ambulances’.
M-mama provides a free charge number, a 24/7 dispatch centre and an app through which their services are accessed while Linda Mama services can be accessed by dialing *263# and following the provided instructions.
M-mama doesn't necessarily have specific requirements for eligibility.
Linda Mama, on the other hand, is an expanded programme for free maternity package targeting expectant mothers who cannot afford any medical cover including NHIF, to cater to their maternity requirements.
It provides free maternal services for all pregnant women who are of Kenyan Citizenship.
It has the following registration requirements:
- Pregnant women of age 18 years and above are registered using their national identification cards and antenatal care records.
- Pregnant women under 18 years are registered using their guardians’ national identification cards and antenatal care records.
- Pregnant women without national identification cards or guardians are registered using antenatal care records.
Under this cover, mothers are covered for pregnancy care, delivery in the hospital, post-delivery care, and outpatient baby care.
It is a publicly funded healthcare scheme launched by NHIF in 2016.
Both M-mama and Linda Mama initiatives however share the common goal to promote safe and convenient deliveries and reduce maternal deaths and complications either due to lack of emergency transport or money to cater for maternal expenses respectively.
