Khushi Baby: Origins; teaching case presentation
Description
Khushi Baby is a not-for-profit venture based in Rajasthan, India, that introduced an innovative, low-cost, waterproof pendant for infants, embedded with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip containing the child’s complete immunization records. It replaces the traditional paper-based system, in which records are easily lost or damaged, and parents often forget to attend immunization camps, leaving children vulnerable to disease. The pendant is designed as a durable black-thread necklace, similar to the traditional thread tied around infants’ necks to ward off the evil eye, and is therefore rarely removed by mothers. Healthcare workers scan the pendant using a smartphone application during vaccination visits, and the data are uploaded to a cloud server when the worker returns to an area with connectivity. Khushi Baby aims to decentralize medical records to address two key challenges: low immunization rates resulting from the limited reach of health workers in remote areas, and the frequent misplacement of children’s medical records by parents. The venture’s founder, Ruchit Nagar, was part of a student team at Yale University that developed a prototype for a wearable immunization reminder. The idea won the Thorne Prize for Social Innovation in Health, and with the prize funding, Khushi Baby was launched in May 2014. The system was field-tested in Udaipur in collaboration with Seva Mandir, a local non-governmental organization. The early prototype was subsequently enhanced to include comprehensive data collection and community engagement initiatives, such as targeted publicity in rural areas and mobile phone-based voice call reminders. As Ruchit notes, “We are working to ensure that each pregnant woman’s and child’s health is tracked to the last mile so that millions of deaths can be averted.” With only four full-time employees, seven part-time employees, and sixteen full-time contractors, the organization faces the challenge of scaling both its team and its operational reach.
Copyright Date
January 2017
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Keywords
Entrepreneurship, Startups
Conference
FLAME Case Conference 2017, 29-30 June, 2017, Pune
