Saving Lives through Technology: Mobile Phones and Infant Mortality

Justice Tei Mensah, Kibrom Tafere and Kibrom A. Abay

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2026, vol. 74, issue 3, 997 - 1040

Abstract: Poor access to health-care infrastructure is one of the main drivers of infant mortality in Africa. Digital technologies can expand access to health services to underserved populations. We leverage mobile network expansion and survey data spanning two decades to study the effect of access to mobile phones on infant mortality in Africa. Using two-way fixed effects and plausibly exogenous variations in lightning intensity as an instrument for mobile network expansion, we find that access to mobile phones reduces infant mortality. A 10 percentage point increase in mobile coverage is associated with a 0.03–0.46 percentage point reduction in infant mortality. Improvements in health knowledge and behavior and health-care utilization appear to be plausible channels. These findings provide evidence of significant public health dividends associated with investments in digital infrastructure in Africa.

Date: 2026
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Working Paper: Saving Lives through Technology: Mobile Phones and Infant Mortality (2022)
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