Global digital security firm Gemalto has thrown its weight behind the GSMA pan-African mHealth initiative, dubbed ‘PAMI’.

PAMI forms part of a mobile ecosystem that plans to improve maternal and child health and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.

The GSMA project intends leveraging communications products, solutions and infrastructures to deliver mHealth support to over 15 million pregnant women and mothers with children under five years old.

The first phase is planned to be launched in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia in September 2014, extending to Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in early 2015.

“Gemalto will help bring mHealth and nutrition services to the masses dynamically through its advanced SmartMessage interactive messaging solution, leveraging its existing relationships with mobile operators across the region,” says the company in a statement.

“The aim is to simplify the relationships between patients and health stakeholders to deliver targeted nutritional and health advice via mobile phones,” adds the company.

Gemalto further notes it is contributing its digital security expertise to two key mHealth programmes: the United Nations Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy and the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact.