Mobile Platform Enables Healthcare Delivery and Employment

Living Goods empowers Community Health Workers to save lives and earn income.

Saving lives and transforming livelihoods

27%

reduction in deaths of children under age 5

8.8M

community members served

10,000

Community Health Workers (CHWs) empowered

$1.66

annual per capita cost

Saving lives and creating jobs

In Africa, lack of access to quality, affordable healthcare results in millions of deaths from preventable diseases. Living Goods saves lives at scale by using mobile technology to deliver on-call, affordable healthcare to families while providing livable income for health workers.

The organization:

  • Leverages mobile technology and real-time data to optimize performance, outcomes, and accountability.
  • Partners with governments and other organizations to strengthen community health systems at a national level.
  • Ensures their network of health workers are effectively equipped, compensated, and supervised.
  • Uses an externally validated model that results in positive health outcomes for many people at the lowest cost.

“Living Goods is building an innovative double-bottom line model that empowers micro-entrepreneurs to earn an income by dramatically improving the health, wealth, and productivity of people living in poverty.”

Ray Chambers, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Malaria

Mobile technology improves healthcare

Cisco funded the development of a mobile technology platform, which enables Community Health Workers to deliver healthcare more efficiently and effectively. It also enables Living Goods to measure performance and outcomes while optimizing business operations.

  • Health workers use technology to register every pregnant woman and newborn child and assess risk factors. Follow-up text messages promote healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries, and newborn care.
  • The Smart Health app enables reliable diagnosis of malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia--as well as helping to detect early outbreaks.
  • A treatment app provides a treatment protocol and sends automated messages to parents daily to reinforce protocol adherence.
  • An immunization tool developed by the organization helps health workers and parents identify children who have not been immunized and helps get their immunizations current.
  • Health workers can text customers directly about product and health tips and upcoming sales promotions.
  • Living Goods uses predictive analysis to accurately predict individuals at the highest risk of health problems--who then receive priority care. 
  • Living Goods built COVID-19 assessments into its existing app and is supporting governments with COVID prevention, monitoring, and response.

Mobile platform increases impact

The mobile platform supports a big vision--to improve the health and wealth of millions of people across four countries in the next five years. Digitization is enabling Living Goods to hire more Community Health Workers and reach more beneficiaries in a financially viable way.

  • The presence of Living Goods health workers in a village increased the use of malaria medicines by children by almost 40 percent (Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 2013).
  • Pharmacies are 50 percent less likely to have counterfeit medicines in regions where Living Goods operates.
  • 95 percent of health workers report that Living Goods has taught them skills that will help get them another job or start a business.
  • The average health worker earns 135 US dollars per year--enough to cover school fees for two to three children.
  • Through Living Goods’ advisory services, other organizations are successfully applying its model in countries around the world.

27 percent reduction in deaths of children under age 5

In Uganda, community health workers reduced under-five mortality by 27 percent and stunting by seven percent for less than two dollars per person annually.

Save lives today while securing a better tomorrow

Make a tax-deductible donation to Living Goods to help save lives and improve livelihoods.

Meet our community partners

Cisco and the Cisco Foundation partner with innovative nonprofits to deliver transformative, tech-driven solutions for economic empowerment, education, and crisis response, which includes shelter, water, food, and disaster relief.