DawaHealth uses WhatsApp chatbot to support maternal care in Zimbabwe

What happened

DawaHealth, a Zambia-based start-up, has developed DawaMom, an AI-powered chatbot that provides pregnancy information through WhatsApp and connects users with licensed health workers. RFI reported that the service was developed in 2024 and is being used in Zimbabwe.

Basic access is free, while users pay for advanced services including personalised monitoring and home visits. The company chose WhatsApp because it is widely used in Southern Africa and, according to co-founder and chief executive Tafadzwa Kalisto Munzwa, users may retain WhatsApp data access even when general internet use is costly.

Service details

DawaHealth says DawaMom uses retrieval-augmented generation and responds from a verified database rather than general internet content. The company said the database draws on Health Ministry guidelines, World Health Organization recommendations, medical-school curricula and hospital protocols. More than 25 health workers reportedly translated and validated content in Shona, Ndebele and Tonga.

The company also said it worked with more than 30 women in Zimbabwe on an English-Shona code-switching dataset. DawaHealth reported more than 20,000 users to date and a target of 50,000 by the end of 2026.

RFI reported Zimbabwe had just over 22 health workers per 10,000 people in 2022, citing a WHO and Ministry of Health analysis.

Commercial perspective

The model combines free digital information with paid monitoring and home-visit services. Its potential commercial relevance lies in subscription-based maternal support, although the source does not provide revenue, subscriber or service-utilisation figures.