HelpMum, a Nigerian health-tech startup, has been awarded $50,000 at the Waislitz Global Citizen Award in 2021
HelpMum, a Nigerian health-tech startup, has been awarded $50,000 at the Waislitz Global Citizen Award in 2021
Helpmum, a Nigerian health technology startup, has been selected as one of four global winners for the Waislitz Global Citizen Award in 2021, making it the only African company to be selected. HelpMum has been selected as the winner of the Waislitz Global Citizen COVID – 19 Response award, and as a result of winning the award, the organization will receive a cash prize of $50,000.
An annual cash award (up to a total of $250,000) presented by the Melbourne-based Waislitz Foundation with support from Mesoblast to individuals who are recognized as global changemakers, the Waislitz awards are worth up to $250,000. Because of this, the prizes assistance institution believes that the cash prize will enable the recipients to continue their advocacy efforts, particularly those aimed at ending extreme poverty.
Global citizenship, proof of concept, disruption, scalability, and adaptability were the criteria used to evaluate applicants for the Waislitz Global Citizen Awards in 2021. A large number of applications from participants all over the world were received, according to the platform's statistics. Global Citizen selected four people whose projects stood out as particularly innovative and significant in the fight against poverty.
Bina Shrestha, one of the four winners, is the founder of Build Up Nepal, an organization that assists rural families in the construction of homes using environmentally friendly materials while also providing opportunities for people to start their own businesses. Tania Rosas' Foundation el Origen (Origin Learning Fund), Jimmy Pham's Know One Teach One (KOTO), and Dr Abiodun Adereni's HelpMum are among the other recipients of the award.
Let’s Meet HelpMum
HelpMum provides an e-learning platform for community birth attendants to be trained in their indigenous languages, according to their needs. It also provides a vaccination tracking system, where expectant mothers in targeted remote areas are registered in order to encourage them to immunize their babies with the appropriate vaccines.
In order to ensure safe and hygienic delivery among pregnant women in rural and underserved communities, the startup distributes affordable birth kits, which include cleansed gloves, antiseptic soap, sterilised delivery mats, and maternity pads. The startup is currently accepting donations.
More than 20,000 pregnant women and nursing mothers, as well as more than 500 healthcare professionals, have benefited from HelpMum's services. Within days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the startup distributed 10,000 face masks to pregnant women, nursing mothers and traditional birth attendants working in rural health centers across the country.
HelpMum was one of the winners of the Google Impact Challenge in 2018, and received a $250,000 grant as a result. A $5,000 grant from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was awarded to the organization later on (UNCTAD).
