Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, have developed SwasthGarbh — an app that provides antenatal care and real-time medical support to pregnant women. It has been developed under the Prime Minister Swasth Bharat Mission.
Although there are multiple pregnancy-related apps available on Google Play Store and Apple Store, what sets SwasthGarbh apart is that it allows users access to the doctor whenever required. Hence, it is not just a pregnancy-related information-sharing platform. Not just that, it also helps pregnant women with hospital visits as it reminds them when it is time to visit the hospital when they are due, as well as when they need to undergo tests.
It can turn out to be especially helpful for women in rural areas where getting proper medical help might be an uphill task. The increasing internet and smartphone penetration only helps with the cause.
Although mobile applications have long played a role in connecting people, ordering online, blogging, etc, there are some that are working for social causes. Here are some apps that are using technology to help those with pressing needs:
ShareTheMeal–Help children
Hunger is a prevalent problem affecting around 2.3 billion people globally, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO). The numbers are staggering for India too where an estimated 189.2 million people are undernourished. Tackling this problem is the United Nations app—ShareTheMeal, which allows users to ‘share your meal’ with children in need. It allows this by just tapping on the phone. The users can pay for the meal digitally. It also shows users where and to whom the meal was distributed.
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Plantix
Over 50% of India’s workforce is engaged in agriculture. Yet, many farmers lose their crops to pests, diseases, and other ailments. Solving this problem is the app Plantix, developed by a Hyderabad and Berlin-based startup. It aids them with technology to find the right inputs for their crop and improve their overall health.
It does so through artificial intelligence (AI). Farmers just need to click a picture of their crop. The app helps with detecting the disease and recommends the right inputs to treat the nutritional deficiencies. Not just that, it also sends disease alerts to the farmer.
Plantix has over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store and is 70,000 daily active users, as per
its website.
Friends2Support.org
The non-availability of blood in hospitals can at times be a big problem, which is prevalent in many parts of the world. Tackling that problem is the non-profit organisation Friends2Support, whose services are available in India, along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Yemen. Through its app, which has been downloaded over a million times, the user can register as a blood donor. She can also search for voluntary blood donors by providing the location. When donating blood, it also provides a checklist of what to do before and after donating blood. Not just that, it also allows users to invite friends through different social media channels to join the cause.
Be My Eyes
As the name suggests, Be My Eyes is an app that allows a user to ‘be the eyes’ of a blind person when in need. It allows you to remotely connect with the person and aid her through a live video connection. For this, users with blindness can connect with the sighted ones whenever they need help. Not to mention, this is a great way to connect with people and spread the act of kindness, not to mention making this world a bit inclusive for the blind.
CitizenCOP
This one is an indigenous app developed by INFOCRATS, an Infore-based software development company. As the name might loosely suggest, CitizenCOP is a location-based app that allows users to report crime as it happens, hence helping with ease. It is especially of help to women. By making reporting crime hassle-free, it also makes the police’s job a bit easy.
The services started in Indore and have since then expanded to other cities too such as Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Raipur, Bengaluru, Noida, Varanasi, etc. It has over 500,000 downloads on Google Play Store. However, a recurring complaint of difficulty in using it, issues with services, and the huge amount of permissions required.