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Daniel Ruyonga and Asha Namugambe
UNFPA Uganda
Teheca
Teheca was inspired by co-founder Asha Namugambe’s personal experiences of inadequate maternal healthcare in Uganda. Maternal mortality rates are high in Uganda, and many post-birth deaths of both mother and child are due to avoidable complications. Asha nearly lost her sister twice to postnatal complications, but her mother - a retired midwife - was fortunately able to identify the complications in time to intervene. Together with Daniel Ruyonga, they developed the Teheca app with the support of The United Nations Population Fund’s Uganda’s Up Accelerate project, which mentors young people and provides seed funding to develop solutions for reproductive and sexual health issues.
The Teheca app provides services for the early identification of potential complications in both mother and child. New mothers can use it to connect to community healthcare workers and local nurses, who provide postnatal care including regular physical checks. Many post-birth complications go undetected due to a lack of knowledge of postnatal care, and the difficulties and costs associated with getting to a hospital for check-ups, so Teheca brings postnatal care services to mothers in their homes. Teheca recruits registered and qualified nurses, whom they up-skill for the purposes of maternal care. The app also provides support for expectant mothers and has a forum where mothers can ask other parents and nurses questions. Teheca also sells a ‘mama kit’ which is a hospital bag that contains essential items for a safe and comfortable delivery. Teheca has flexible care packages, charged per hour. This is convenient even for low-income families as they can pay for what they can afford.
Many poor areas lack adequate access to medical and healthcare facilities, sometimes requiring lengthy and difficult travel, high costs, and long waiting times to attend appointments. This makes it difficult for mothers to conduct important health checks - especially in cases where they are unwell. Teheca reduces these barriers, and makes healthcare more accessible, facilitating the swift resolution of complications to save lives. They have provided over 3000 healthcare workers an opportunity to earn additional income by working for Teheca.
By digitising many of the healthcare services that would otherwise have required dedicated buildings and transport, Teheca helps to reduce the amount of materials and emissions typically associated with maternal healthcare.
Teheca has received a lot of free publicity by winning the Uganda leg of the international ‘Seedstars’ competition, and participating in the ‘Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa’. Teheca was also featured on Season 2 of Airtel Uganda’s ‘My Hustle’ show.
While Teheca was initially formed to address a wide range of healthcare services in urban and peri-urban areas, it now has a focus on maternal health. More recently, home-based care for the bedridden and infirmed has been added to the services offered.
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