How AI can help mothers reach critical care in Ghana
Accessing emergency obstetric care is a race against time for many women around the world. Even for those living in urban areas where adequate medical facilities are prevalent, obstacles like traffic congestion, poor road infrastructure, and limited transportation options can turn a seemingly short distance into a perilous journey. This delay in reaching critical care contributes to the devastating statistic that a maternal death occurs every two minutes globally, with the majority of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2023, to help address this challenge, we introduced a dashboard to offer insights on access to emergency obstetric care. This tool, developed in collaboration with the OnTIME Consortium, uses the same AI-driven traffic predictions that underpin Google Maps to estimate the average travel time to the nearest emergency obstetric care facilities. The goal is to help decision-makers identify and respond to areas where geographic access to these facilities is limited.
We're thrilled to announce the launch of this tool in Ghana. Ghana has made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality in recent decades and is committed to further advancements through innovative approaches. We believe this tool can strongly support these ongoing efforts and accelerate progress towards their goals.
This tool is already enabling decision-makers and organizations in Nigeria to allocate resources more effectively. For example, it's helped Emergency Resources Africa, a network of community first responders working with the OnTIME team, relocate first responders to areas where women might face longer travel times to reach care.
As Dr. Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas, leader of the OnTIME Consortium, pointed out, this tool offers policymakers and service planners in Ghana a more realistic view of pregnant women's experiences accessing emergency obstetric care in Greater Accra. This allows for better prioritization of high-risk areas and the development of targeted interventions.
This launch builds on Google Research Africa's ongoing work using technology to address challenges and empower communities locally and globally. Our portfolio currently includes efforts in food security, languages and weather forecasting.
We look forward to working with our partners in Ghana to make this tool a success and expanding its reach to other countries over the coming months. We believe that by working together, we can leverage technology to improve access to emergency obstetric care and save the lives of mothers and newborns in Africa and around the world.
