Antenatal Care in Tanzania transformed through Blockchain tech

Announcement comes as the initiative sees Africa’s first baby born on the blockchain

AID:Tech, the company that uses Digital Identity and Blockchain technology to revolutionize how governments, enterprises and NGOs deliver digital entitlements, today announced an ongoing partnership with PharmAccess Foundation, the group dedicated to improving access to healthcare throughout Africa. The partnership has been running an initiative called Chain of Trust (CoT) which has been monitoring digitally guided pregnancies through blockchain technology. The first baby from the initiative is due to be delivered today, June 1, 2018, marking a significant milestone for both companies involved, and the Tanzanian healthcare system as a whole.                                                      

Commenting on the announcement, Niall Dennehy, COO of AID:Tech said: “From a lack of healthcare funding to high child and maternal mortality rates, there are a number of challenges present within the healthcare system in Tanzania, all of which can and will be combated. By utilizing AID:Tech’s Blockchain platform we are facilitating the collection, identification, and verification of digital health data to make women’s antenatal care a far safer and effective process. All the time protecting the women’s data and allowing them to have full control of their health records.” 

Monique Dolfing, CEO of PharmAccess said, “As an organization we are dedicated to using technological innovation to provide access to better healthcare for as many people in Africa as possible. Our partnership with AID:Tech allows us to address the challenges associated with current practices while improving the lives of the patients. This project demonstrates a transparent, innovative, performance-based financing model for healthcare.” 

Launched on April 25th, the CoT project is already providing evidence leading to informed decision making. It tracks the journey of pregnant women from their first hospital visit at 16 weeks, monitors their antenatal care throughout, the delivery, and subsequent postnatal care at the trial clinic. In addition, AID:Tech and PharmAccess can ensure that patients will receive their medical entitlements in an efficient and transparent way, as well as supporting the care provider with tools to gather data quickly on the information of each patient’s journey and manage appointments. Ultimately, the CoT project aims to provide a proof-of-concept for the efficacy of blockchain technology in assembling, tagging and verifying digital health data.  

Founded in 2014, AID:Tech was the first company in the world to deliver international aid using blockchain technology. In a ground-breaking project in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon, the company utilized their platform to transparently deliver aid to Syrian refugees. AID:Tech’s platform enables entitlements like aid, welfare, remittances, donations, and healthcare to be digitized and delivered through  blockchain technology in a completely transparent manner.  

Founded in 2001, PharmAccess has initiated a digital platform that connects all parties in the healthcare industry, bringing transparency, accountability and direct access to and for end-users. Dedicated to improving access to better healthcare in Africa, PharmAccess is uniquely mobilizing both public and private resources for the benefit of both doctors and patients. PharmAccess places mobile technology at the forefront of its work across clinical standards, care quality improvements, loans for healthcare providers, health insurance, mobile health innovations, and research.