Kilkari
Free weekly stage-based audio messages about pregnancy, childbirth, infant feeding, immunisation and family planning, called to pregnant and postpartum women's mobile phones in India. Designed by BBC Media Action in Bihar, then scaled to 13 states and handed to the national government; the largest maternal messaging programme of its kind.
- Years
- 2012–now
- Country
- India
- Budget
- US$8.4 million programme cost, December 2014-April 2019 (inflation-adjusted; LeFevre et al. 2023)
- Topic
- BreastfeedingFamily planningMaternal healthVaccination
- Asks people to
- Seek helpStart
- Strategy
- Service linkSimple instruction
- Channel
- Mobile voice
- Audience
- ParentsPregnant and postpartum women registered in the government system and their families; up to 72 weekly calls
Evidence
PreregisteredMixed
Individually randomised trial, 5,095 pregnant women in four districts of Madhya Pradesh (NCT03576157, protocol published 2019): no effect on the primary outcome, exclusive breastfeeding (ITT RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.88-1.23). Modern reversible contraceptive use higher (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03-1.21; +3.7%), sterilisation since birth lower (RR 0.85), immunisation at 10 weeks slightly higher (RR 1.03). No differences for other maternal and newborn outcomes. 65% of women listened to at least half of call content (LeFevre et al., BMJ Glob Health 2022). Qualitative study: families kept messages that fit existing norms and ignored those that did not, e.g. on breastfeeding (Scott et al. 2021). Modelled cost per life saved US$392-953 (LeFevre 2023).
Sponsor (who paid)
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India Foreign government, owner from 2019 (national scale-up)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Foundation, funder
- BBC Media Action NGO, creator
Credits (who made it)
- BBC Media Action Creative, 2012-2019 source
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Oxford Policy Management Research evaluation, 2018-2020 source
Sources
- LeFevre AE et al. The impact of a direct to beneficiary mobile communication program on reproductive and child health outcomes: a randomised controlled trial in India. BMJ Glob Health 2022;6(Suppl 5) evaluation · 2022 · DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008838 · PMID 35835477
- LeFevre A et al. Are stage-based health information messages effective and good value for money in improving maternal newborn and child health outcomes in India? Protocol for an individually randomized controlled trial. Trials 2019;20:272 evaluation · 2019 · DOI 10.1186/s13063-019-3369-5 · PMID 31092278
- Scott K et al. Another voice in the crowd: the challenge of changing family planning and child feeding practices through mHealth messaging in rural central India. BMJ Glob Health 2021 evaluation · 2021 · DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005868 · PMID 34312156
- LeFevre AE et al. Cost-effectiveness of a direct to beneficiary mobile communication programme in improving reproductive and child health outcomes in India. BMJ Glob Health 2023 evaluation · 2023 · DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009553 · PMID 36958740
- Dutt P et al. Using behavioural design and theories of change to integrate communication solutions into health systems in India. Integr Healthc J 2022 history · 2022 · DOI 10.1136/ihj-2022-000139 · PMID 37440851
Research notes
BBC Media Action credit from PubMed abstract ('Developed by BBC Media Action') and the BBC Media Action authors' history paper (PMC full text), fetched 2026-10-22. Registration was 22 June 2018 for an evaluation of a programme running since 2012, hence 'preregistered' applies to the trial, not the campaign. Kilkari is an IVR voice service, not SMS; channel 'mobile-voice' is a new id (see report). BBC Media Action staff co-authored the trial papers. Part of the Ananya programme with Mobile Kunji and Mobile Academy (leads in the agency record).
Record cases/kilkari.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign