How It Works
Six steps. One WhatsApp message. A life saved.
The Patient and Family Journey
MAATLA works in real time, on WhatsApp, with no signup forms or complicated processes, in all seven official South African languages: Sepedi, English, Setswana, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Here is exactly how it flows.
Getting Started (5 Minutes)
Your family member is registered on chronic medication. You want to support them.
You message MAATLA on WhatsApp: +27 61 049 3901
MAATLA responds and asks for four pieces of information:
- The language you want to be messaged in: Sepedi, English, Setswana, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Tshivenda or Xitsonga
- Your relationship to the patient (daughter, son, spouse, caregiver)
- The patient's condition (hypertension, diabetes, HIV/ARVs, TB)
- The patient's medication collection date (government clinic or pharmacy pickup point)
That is it. No forms. No email verification. No login password.
You are now registered. Your loved one starts receiving weekly health education immediately.
Weekly Health Education (Every Thursday)
Every Thursday morning, your loved one receives a voice message.
The message is three to four minutes long in English and explains their condition in plain, simple language.
Week 1
“You have hypertension. This means your blood pressure is high. High blood pressure damages your heart and kidneys slowly, even though you feel fine. This is why you must take your pills every day.”
Week 2
“When you take your medication every day, your blood pressure stays normal. Your heart and kidneys stay healthy. When you stop taking medication, the damage starts happening again. You do not feel it happening, but it is happening inside your body.”
Week 3
“Many people stop taking medication because they feel fine. This is normal. But feeling fine does not mean you are cured. It means the medication is working. Keep taking it.”
Week 4
“If you miss your medication for even a few days, your blood pressure starts rising again. If you miss it for weeks, you risk a stroke or heart attack. Staying on medication is how you stay alive.”
These are not reminders. They are conversations designed to shift understanding. They explain the real reason most people abandon medication: they feel fine and genuinely do not understand why continuing matters. MAATLA addresses that.
Your loved one can reply with questions anytime. “What if I forget a dose?” “What if the pills make me tired?” Real questions get real answers from a health professional.
Medication Collection Reminder (3 Days Before Deadline)
Three days before the government medication collection deadline, you receive a message.
Not your loved one. You.
Reminder
“Your family member's medication collection is due this Thursday. Please remind them or help them get to the pharmacy. Collection must happen within 7 days or they will be deregistered.”
This message is timed specifically. Three days is enough time to plan. Close enough to the deadline that it is urgent. It does not nag. It informs.
You take action. You remind your family member. You help them get to the pharmacy. You make sure they collect their medication.
The government's system does not deregister them. Your family member stays in the programme.
Daily Check-In and Family Alert
Every single day, your loved one receives a check-in question on WhatsApp.
Daily check-in
“Did you take your medication today? Reply YES or NO or tell us what happened.”
This is not punishment. It is just a question. A moment of honest reflection.
If they reply YES, nothing happens. They have adhered. Good.
If they reply NO or do not respond, we notice. We are watching.
If two consecutive days pass with NO responses or missed check-ins, you (the family member) get an alert.
Family alert
“We have not heard from your family member for two days. They may have missed their medication check-in. Can you check in with them? If something is wrong or they need help, let us know.”
This is the early warning system. It catches problems before they become crises. You have a chance to step in, ask what is happening, and help. Maybe they are struggling. Maybe they ran out of pills. Maybe they are sick. Now you know, and you can help.
Family Health Academy Enrollment (Optional)
At any point, you can enroll in the Family Health Academy.
You receive a message with course options. “Learn stroke recognition. Learn CPR. Learn what to do in a diabetic emergency.”
You select a course. A weekly lesson arrives on WhatsApp every Tuesday. Three-minute audio or video on one specific emergency skill.
Week 1
“How to recognize a stroke. Signs to watch for. What to do immediately.”
Week 2
“How to do chest compressions. Hand position. Rhythm. When to stop.”
Week 3
“What a diabetic crisis looks like. Low blood sugar vs. high blood sugar. How to help.”
You learn at your own pace. No pressure. No deadlines. Just knowledge you can use.
After eight weeks of lessons, if you want formal certification, you book a two-hour practical session with an accredited trainer. You practice CPR on a mannequin. You demonstrate what you learned. You pass. You receive a certificate from the Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa.
Now you are officially trained. You are registered as a community responder on MAATLA. If someone near you has an emergency and calls our SOS line, you might get notified. You might be the person who saves their life.
Emergency SOS Coming soon
When Crisis Happens
Emergency SOS has not launched yet. This is how it is intended to work once it does. Calling 112 always comes first, and pre-registration for community responders is open now.
Your family member has a dizzy spell at home. They cannot stand. You are terrified.
They pick up their phone and send one WhatsApp message to MAATLA: SOS
Three things are designed to happen at once.
First: Emergency Dispatch. Their GPS location is sent to emergency services. The ambulance knows exactly where they are. No time wasted on phone calls trying to explain the address.
Second: Live Nurse Connection. As soon as possible, a trained nurse connects to them via WhatsApp audio call. The nurse hears what is happening. “My mother is on the floor, her speech is slurred, I think she is having a stroke.”
The nurse guides the family through the first critical minutes. “Keep her lying flat. Do not give her anything to eat or drink. Stay on the phone with me. The ambulance is coming.”
Medical guidance in real time. Not a recording. A trained professional.
Third: Community Responders Notified. Every person who completed our CPR training within 500 metres of their location gets a notification. “Medical emergency nearby. Trained responders needed. Location shared.”
A neighbour who completed CPR training gets the alert. They live three houses away, and they choose to go to your family member's house to help.
By the time the ambulance arrives, your family member has already received guidance, has already been found, and has already had someone trained present with them.
Their medical profile is accessible. The nurse knows their medications. The ambulance crew knows their blood type and allergies. Everyone has information they need to help.
Real Scenario 1
Medication Adherence Through Understanding
Thabo is 58 years old, living alone in Tembisa, managing hypertension.
When he first starts MAATLA, he is taking his medication inconsistently. He feels fine most days, so why take pills?
Week 1: He hears a voice message explaining what hypertension is and why it damages his heart silently.
Week 2: He hears about the difference between feeling fine and being fine.
Week 3: He misses responding to the daily check-in twice. But he hears a message from his daughter: “Dad, I got an alert that you missed your check-in. Are you okay? I will come check on you this weekend.”
Week 4: He listens to the message again about missing doses and stroke risk. Something clicks. He realizes his mother died of a stroke. He does not want that.
He now takes his medication every single day. He replies YES to the daily check-in. He is adherent.
One prevented stroke saves the healthcare system R150,000 in hospitalization costs. His daughter feels less anxious. He lives longer.
Real Scenario 2
Family Preparedness and Emergency Response
Illustrative scenario. The Emergency SOS and community responder parts of this story are how the service is intended to work once it launches; they are not live yet.
Nomsa, 34, lives with her elderly mother in Diepkloof. Her mother has diabetes and hypertension.
Nomsa enrolls in the Family Health Academy. She completes eight weeks of lessons on stroke, CPR, and diabetic crisis. She books the practical session. She completes CPR certification.
Six months later, her mother collapses at home. Nomsa is at work. Her mother's sister is with her. Nomsa's mother sends the SOS message.
Nomsa gets a call from a live nurse as soon as possible. The nurse guides her mother's sister on what to do. Keep her on her side. Monitor breathing. Stay calm.
By the time Nomsa gets home, her mother's sister has already stabilized the situation based on nurse guidance.
When the ambulance arrives, her mother has been monitored, guided, and kept safe by people who know what to do.
If Nomsa had not learned CPR and been part of the responder network, this story might have ended differently. An untrained person in a panic might not have known to put her mother on her side. She might have aspirated. She might not have survived the wait.
Faster guidance and a trained neighbour nearby can make the difference while help is on the way.
What Happens When You Send SOS
Coming soon. This has not launched yet, and calling 112 always comes first.
GPS Dispatch
Location is sent straight to emergency services. No address to explain.
Nurse Connection
A trained nurse is on the line as soon as possible, guiding the family.
Community Responders
Trained responders within 500 metres are notified and can help while the ambulance is on its way.
Call to Action
For Patients and Families
You do not need to figure this out alone. Message MAATLA on WhatsApp right now. +27 61 049 3901
Register your loved one on chronic medication. Start receiving weekly health education this week. Get daily check-ins and family alerts. Sleep better knowing someone is watching.
Provide your information. Done.
No forms. No signup. Just WhatsApp.