AI innovations in maternal health care are closing a dangerous information gap for millions of expectant mothers, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Inadequate financing, weak governance, health workforce shortages and recurring shocks, including disease outbreaks and conflicts, are among the key barriers disrupting maternal and child health services. Up to 94% of maternal deaths occur in low-resource settings, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, which account for a substantial share of global stillbirths and newborn deaths. The region is projected to record a neonatal mortality rate roughly twice the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. These numbers could decrease thanks to a Kenyan nonprofit that has built an artificial intelligence (AI) powered solution, putting trustworthy health information directly into mothers’ hands using a simple mobile phone.

A Lifeline Built on Simple Technology

Founded in 2016, Jacaranda Health is a nonprofit organization that uses AI-powered solutions to address maternal health gaps within government health systems. The organization developed PROMPTS, which stands for Promoting Mothers in Pregnancy and Postpartum. Through SMS, an AI-enabled maternal health messaging platform that delivers timely, accurate pregnancy and newborn health care information directly to mothers’ phones.

Initially a one-way push notification service, it quickly evolved. Parents receiving the reminders started texting back with questions, prompting Jacaranda Health to build a help desk to respond. As demand grew far beyond what a small team could manage manually, the organization integrated artificial intelligence to prioritize and answer incoming messages, shifting human intelligence to focus on urgent clinical cases.

From Hundreds to Thousands of Questions a Day

The scale of the shift has been significant. PROMPTS now answers between 10,000 and 12,000 health questions daily, with AI responding to approximately 70% of those questions, drawing on a database of more than 1 million health questions and answers.

According to Jacaranda Health’s cloud technology partner, the platform has reached 3.8 million mothers across Kenya, and the results extend beyond simple access to information. The organization reports a 20% increase in attendance at prenatal health visits and a 1.85-times increase in postpartum family planning among PROMPTS users.

This platform is deliberately designed for low-resource settings. PROMPTS operates as an SMS-based service specifically to avoid the limitations of internet access, ensuring that women without smartphones or reliable data connections can still receive support.

Designed for Equity and Local Context

PROMPTS supports women throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period by providing personalized health information aligned with national clinical protocols, in local languages mothers understand. Jacaranda Health has trained PROMPTS in Swahili, and the platform now operates in multiple sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

In March 2026, Jacaranda Health partnered with eHealth Africa, a Nigeria-based nonprofit, to launch PROMPTS in Kano State, Nigeria, with an initial target of reaching 25,000 mothers. The platform delivers maternal health information in both Hausa and English, and eHealth Africa leads the local adaptation and operational rollout, drawing on its extensive experience implementing data-driven health programs across Nigeria.

A Life-Changing Impact

The human impact behind these AI numbers is significant. In one case documented by Jacaranda Health’s cloud technology partner, PROMPTS flagged a message from a mother with a history of stillbirth describing severe headaches and blurred vision as urgent. Help desk agents reached out immediately and encouraged her to seek medical attention. She went to the hospital right away and weeks later gave birth to a healthy baby.

In Ghana, where PROMPTS is personified as “Nurse Mary,” the platform has assisted 36,500 mothers across 435 health facilities since launching in the Greater Accra Region. A public health nurse at Ashaiman Municipal Hospital described how mothers now arrive at the clinic discussing the text messages they received, sparking deeper conversations during routine health talks. The nurse called for the program to expand to other facilities to help ensure positive health outcomes for more mothers.

Closing the Gap Between Poverty and Survival

Maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa remains deeply tied to poverty, distance from care and lack of access to reliable health information. For women in rural or underserved communities, a text message offering accurate guidance can mean the difference between recognizing a danger sign in time or missing it altogether. By harnessing AI in maternal health care to scale trustworthy health information at low cost, Jacaranda Health and its partners are demonstrating how even simple technology, paired with the right design, can help break the link between poverty and preventable maternal death.

As PROMPTS continues expanding across the continent, it offers a model for how digital innovation can strengthen rather than replace the health systems that vulnerable mothers depend on most.

– Joy Kohol

Joy is based in Muncie, IN, USA and focuses on Good News, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

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