Where We Work | Program
Chipatala cha pa Foni (CCPF)
Telehealth (formerly Health Center by Phone) extends the reach of the health care system to every community by providing access to certified health and nutrition information and services via a toll-free number. In addition, Telehelath gives people the power to make informed decisions about when to seek further care at a health center.
Last Call: Telehealth model helps mothers make the ‘most important’ life-saving decision
Kenya hopes to reduce maternal mortality and end preventable newborn deaths by 2030. Yet reality remains complex. Distance to facilities, overstretched health systems, financial constraints and gaps in timely information continue to shape outcomes.
Mobile Technology & Community Health Care in Malawi
In many rural communities in Malawi, the health care system continues to face significant challenges in delivering accessible, affordable services to its rural population. More than 80% of Malawians live in rural areas, where limited funding, inadequate medical supplies, bribery and unaffordable costs restrict access to...
What Kenya can learn from Malawi’s ‘Call-a-Doctor’ Service
The Malawi Ministry of Health issued a public call for innovative ideas to increase access to information on maternal, newborn, and child health in 2009.Background
VillageReach’s Telehealth (previously Health Center by Phone) solution originated in Malawi as Chipatala cha pa Foni (CCPF). CCPF has now become a model to replicate Telehealth in other countries, as well as a model for successfully scaling solutions with government.
CCPF began in 2009 when the Malawi Ministry of Health (MoH) called on community innovators for ideas to increase access to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) information. In partnership with the MoH, VillageReach developed a MNCH community-based health hotline, piloted in 2011, which now provides free information on health and nutrition to all Malawians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
CCPF is now one of the first government-run, nation-wide health hotlines in Africa.
How It Works
Toll-free Hotline:
- Professionally-staffed hotline providing information on health and nutrition
- 24 hours / 7 days a week
- Calls free on an Airtel phone
- Hotline workers triage calls to doctors and refer callers for further care at a health center when needed
Voice Messages
- Personalized voice messages for those with personal phones
- Dial-in to retrieve messages from any Airtel phone for those without personal phones
- Content specific to women of reproductive age, pregnant women, caregivers of children under one, or adolescent sexual and reproductive health
Resources
Closing the Gender Gap: Community-Driven Solutions to Boost Women’s Use of National Health Hotlines
A qualitative, participatory study to identify barriers and facilitators to women’s uptake of National Health Hotline Solutions in Malawi and Mozambique
National Telehealth Communities of Practice Overview
Identifying Positive Practices to Institutionalize Social Innovation in the Malawian Health System
A Look into Our Digital Solutions: Bridging Gaps, Building Futures
CCPF Transition to Government: Evaluation Report
From idea to systems solution: enhancing access to primary care in Malawi
ONSE Health Activity Malawi – Final Report [Excerpt]
Health Center By Phone Overview
ONSE Health Activity Malawi – 2020 Report [Excerpt]
CCPF Impact Evaluation
Scaling up a health and nutrition hotline in Malawi: the benefits of multisectoral collaboration
ONSE Health Activity Malawi – 2019 Report [Excerpt]
Chipatala cha pa Foni 2019 Evaluation Presentation
Health Center by Phone (CCPF) Overview
Program Impact
2018 Impact Evaluation Findings:
- 87% of all callers who had been referred by CCPF to a health facility for further tests, care or preventive products reported going.
- 95% were satisfied with the referral and 33% said they probably would not have gone otherwise.
- 98% CCPF user satisfaction rating of good or very good
- CCPF callers show increased knowledge, compared to non-callers, related to:
- Nutrition
- Maternal and Child Health
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
Partners
Government
- Malawi Ministry of Health
- Malawi Ministry of Finance
- Malawi Ministry of Justice
Technical Partners
- Airtel
- VIAMO
- Baobab Health Trust
- mHealth Alliance
- Concern Worldwide Malawi
- Support for Service Delivery Integration
Donors
- USAID
- PEPFAR
- GIZ
- J&J
- JSI
- GSMA
- CHAI
- Vitol Foundation
- Project Concern International
- Seattle International Foundation
Related Global Impact
See the latest updates from our work to improve access to quality healthcare in the world’s most underserved communities.