Giving Compass' Take:

• In this story from the United Nations Foundation, author Anne Rosenthal discusses a new technology called the "Mobile Learning System" which could save the lives of mothers by training midwives.

• How could women philanthropists and global health advocates collaborate to implement and spread this technology? What other investments might benefit midwives, and by extension mothers?

• Interested in women's philanthropy? To learn about high-impact opportunities to improve the lives of women and girls, click here.

Midwife Selamawit Giday and a crowd of maternal health workers gathered around a wall in the local clinic in rural Adwa, in the far north of Ethiopia, watching as arrows moved around a series of anatomical charts. The images came from a palm-sized, solar-powered smart projector, a portable “Mobile Learning System” developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with support from a range of partners, including the government of Denmark. A part of the UN’s innovation work, this tool helps save lives by delivering the latest midwifery skills to health workers in some of the country’s hardest to reach areas.

Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. In the fight to stop women from dying in childbirth, knowledge is power. Through UNFPA’s mobile tool, Selamawit and other health workers in remote areas have been given access to information that can save lives, ranging from strengthening newborn care to addressing childbirth complications and family planning.

“Midwives often go beyond their call of duty,” says Bettina Maas, UNFPA Country Representative for Ethiopia. “Often working long hours in difficult, resource-poor environments, with little equipment and no supervision, they have to complete multiple tasks that would typically be undertaken by teams. This is why alternative and innovative solutions are essential for midwives to be able to upgrade their skills.”

Read the full article about the Mobile Learning System by Anne Rosenthal at United Nations Foundation.