Mobile top-up company lowers unplanned birthrates in Haiti

World’s largest international top-up provider, Ding, is incentivizing women to use contraception by rewarding them with free mobile top-up.

Dublin, Ireland, 18th June 2015 – Ding have partnered with non-for-profit, Haiti Projects to lower unexpected pregnancies in Haiti. The innovative programme incentivizes women to keep their contraceptive appointments, where they are given a three-month contractive shots, the Depo Provera, by rewarding them with free mobile top-up.

90% of all unplanned pregnancies occur in developing nations. For Haitians unplanned births can have devastating effects on the mother and child, bring them furtherer into the depths of poverty. For the nation, a high volume of birthrates mean more pressure on already underfunded hospitals leading to an increased risk of complications during birth.

Haiti Projects provide free 3-month contraceptive shots for 4000 women annually, however, CEO Cherie Miot Abbanat says: “A major barrier we face is getting the women to keep their appointments after the first three month shot wears off. By giving the women free top-up as incentive to keep their appointments we hope to see more women coming to the clinic ultimately lowering the unplanned birthrate in the region.”

Project coordinator Ciara McDevitt says: “Not only does the top-up incentives these women to get their contraceptive shot but mobile credit is an incredibly powerful commodity. A working mobile phone in Haiti is an empowering tool that allows people communicate and access data.”

This partnership is the newest project in Ding’s Top-up for Good programme, which launched at the beginning of 2015. The company’s CRS initiatives use Ding’s global reach, of 4 billion phones, to provide top-up to some of the most impoverished nations in the world.