BENIN CITY — The Edo State Government has deployed the OMO-SHINE referral application to strengthen newborn immunisation, close gaps between Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and health facilities, and reduce preventable infant illnesses and deaths, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
The initiative, developed through a partnership between the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EDSPHCDA) and independent researcher, Dr. Maureen O. Anyanwu, under the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo, is designed to ensure that every child receives life-saving vaccinations and essential healthcare interventions from birth. Described as the first of its kind in Edo State, the application aligns with the governor’s SHINE Agenda on sustainable healthcare, inclusion and community empowerment, while advancing primary healthcare principles of accessibility, affordability and community participation.
Anchored on the slogan, “Catch Them Young, Catch Them at Birth!”, OMO-SHINE has been successfully piloted to address persistent weaknesses in grassroots maternal and child healthcare delivery. Although TBAs remain trusted providers in many rural communities, weak referral systems between them and formal health facilities have often resulted in missed opportunities for timely newborn immunisation, exposing infants to preventable illnesses and potentially fatal complications.
The initiative emerged from earlier research that identified gaps in maternal and child health services at the community level. Dr. Anyanwu, a community-based health systems specialist and digital health innovator, conceptualised and designed the project to promote equity in maternal and child healthcare through practical, community-driven solutions.
To translate the concept into an operational system, she worked closely with the Office of the Executive Secretary of EDSPHCDA, under Dr. Coulson Oahimire Osoikhia. The collaboration brought together key agency officials and technical personnel to develop a referral mechanism connecting informal community-based care with the formal healthcare system.
Other contributors included Dr. Efeomon Eseigbe, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation; Dr. Idemudia Osayomore, Director of Community and Family Health Services; Mr. Nosa Oreye, Technical Assistant to the Executive Secretary; and Mrs. Nene Olaye, the agency’s Communications Specialist, who contributed her journalistic creativity to the initiative. The Edo State Ministry of Health also provided executive support.
The digital development phase involved a research team assembled by Dr. Anyanwu and Mr. Emmanuel Aiyegbeni, a mobile application developer and staff member of the state Ministry of Health, who developed the OMO-SHINE newborn referral application.
The platform employs SMS and WhatsApp-enabled mobile applications, with multilingual and multidialectal options, to enable TBAs to send timely referrals for newborn immunisation. By establishing a structured communication channel between community birth attendants and health facilities, the system is intended to improve referral coordination, strengthen accountability and reduce missed opportunities for essential vaccinations.
Beyond individual referrals, OMO-SHINE represents an effort to strengthen community participation and institutional accountability in public healthcare delivery. Its design reflects the principle that effective primary healthcare requires collaboration between formal health institutions and trusted community providers, particularly in locations where access to conventional health services remains challenging.
The initiative also aligns Edo State’s grassroots healthcare efforts with Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Health Organisation’s Immunization Agenda 2030. It further supports the state’s participation in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, which provides opportunities to reach children with immunisation and other essential healthcare services.
With the state government supporting the application’s scale-up and institutionalisation, OMO-SHINE is positioned as a potentially replicable model for improving links between communities and health facilities. Its wider implementation could strengthen maternal, newborn and child health outcomes, expand equitable access to life-saving interventions and reinforce Edo State’s commitment to community-driven digital health innovation.
The sustainability of the initiative will depend on effective implementation, continued institutional support and active participation by TBAs and health facilities to ensure that referrals translate into timely immunisation and essential care for newborns.
