Djantoli – meaning “watch” in Bambara – enables remote monitoring of the health of infants and children in Mali and Burkina Faso. This service is designed to combat infant mortality and address the low level of home healthcare coverage. Six thousand families have subscribed in the two countries. The organization hopes to further expand the reach of its healthcare model.
In Mali and Burkina Faso, the association aims to tackle the mortality rates of children under five, which remain among the highest in the world. According to the World Health Organization, there were 83 deaths of children under five per 1,000 live births in Mali in 2015, and 60 in Burkina Faso, compared to a global average of 43 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Families can subscribe to the service by paying a financial fee ranging from 500 to 1,200 CFA francs per month (between 0.7 and 1.8 euros), giving them access to an electronic health record on mobile designed for the medical monitoring of children from zero to five years old, as well as basic social security and preferential rates on certain medical care.
The application is used by several mobile health workers, recruited by Djantoli. These workers visit the homes of subscribed families at regular intervals to monitor the child's health and detect any potential illnesses.
"A digital health record"
"The application allows you to create a digital health record for the child. At each visit, you complete their file by indicating their weight, the symptoms they present such as diarrhea, vomiting, as well as their vaccination record," explains Anne Roos-Weil, co-founder and director of Djantoli.
Field workers also describe any visible signs of fever or cough. This information is then sent to Djantoli's partner health centers, where each child's medical records can be accessed by healthcare professionals.
"When I receive this data, I send a text message to say that such and such a child needs to be monitored or summoned immediately for consultation," explains Philippe Tassimbedo, head of the Zagtouli Health and Social Promotion Center, in the suburbs of Ouagadougou.
Health insurance
In Mali, the principle is similar. It was even there that Djantoli conducted its first experiments in 2008, before structuring itself informally into an association two years later, after being a finalist in the Global Social Venture Competition, the prestigious global competition organized by the American University of Berkeley, in California.
Its scope was initially limited to two municipalities in the capital, Bamako. This model has grown considerably since then. In total, across both countries, 6,000 children are now monitored by Djantoli, and only six deaths have been recorded in registered families, according to the association's figures.
In addition to remote medical monitoring, there is a form of health insurance that families can also subscribe to for 500 CFA francs per month. This entitles them to free consultations and a 50% discount on medical care costs at five partner health centers in Bamako, such as N'Tominkorobougou, Samé, or Badialan.
“In Mali, since the system was established, children enrolled in Djantoli consult on average three times more often than others in the same area. This shows that access to care is facilitated. In addition, families come to health centers much earlier and in less alarming health conditions,” explains Anne Roos-Weil.
Building on its success in Mali, the association expanded its activities to Burkina Faso. This development was made possible by the guidance of Pierre Carpentier, Deputy Managing Director of Investments at the private equity firm I&P, and telecom engineer Antoine de Clerck, who is now President of the association, after stints at Orange Mali and Méditel in Morocco.
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