Our History
MAMAS International (MAMAS) builds on more than a decade of field analyses about the need for technology transfer and partnerships which support healthcare for women in armed conflict and post conflict countries and in countries where rural health infrastructure is weak or has collapsed for other reasons.
“The lifeblood of a society is vital information. In the face of digital divides, connectivity is a key to bridging the divide. But connectivity alone is not enough. Information alone is not enough…”
As an initiative conceived during early preparation for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995, MAMAS represented the input from women in crisis settings around the world as they consider how communications could help ensure community survival and reproductive health.
During the 90’s and to the present date, MAMAS team has continued to work with health ministries, university researchers, rural clinicians, international women’s organizations, relief agencies and colleagues within the United Nations, to identify emerging technologies which could be effectively adapted to meet clinical needs and population requirements for planning, policy and administration of health infrastructure.
A Google Challenge!
The word “MAMAS” has always been central to this project, representing a role for women which is understood across cultures, offering non-threatening grounds for authority and activity. Along with the tragedy of war and refugee status comes a curious dynamic: a small moment in time when women can re-negotiate these same roles, as traditional systems have deteriorated and new ways are taking shape.
During the Sierra Leone rebel war, the African women named this project MAMAS, as “Mothers Against Military Aggression.” Later, the same name came to represent more specifically our uses of media and technology to give women voice and to make a difference in these same scenarios, so they voted to change the name to “Mobile Assessment and Media Systems.”
In early 2002, we completed videotaping and the Grafton Teachers’ College survey projects in Grafton Camp and cooperated in the editing of the Massakandu Camp footage into both video and a curriculum film. We came to understand that, given this experience, we could have greatest impact by focusing on what we know best: maternal and newborn health, with adaptation of health informatics and telemedicine to decrease maternal mortality and increase local health services to remote areas. The name finalized as “Mobile Assessment and Maternal Aid Solutions” (MAMAS International) with MAMASnet as a network bridging US health informatics, key partners in technology industry and university labs, with focus on alternative energy production, telemedicine, and supporting tasks necessary for routine and emergency obstetrical services.
We recognize that this name isn’t about biological “mothering” but rather about an attitude of protection and advocacy we saw in the refugee camps, as women took in children they had found, or relatives of relatives who were suddenly their responsibility to provide for, with little or no means. It is also about gender, however, and supporting innovations which will educate rural and refugee women, to become front line health workers and to help allocate resources according to the pulse of their communities.
Linda Hawkin Israel, RN
MAMAS International