Programs action medeor

Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The healthcare system is severely hampered by a lack of qualified healthcare staff: According to estimates by the World Health Organization, there were around 650 midwives in the country at the time of project planning in 2018, but 3,000 were needed.

The practical training and further education of midwives shows weaknesses, including, for example, a lack of practical instructors, a lack of assessment bases for practical training, too few further training opportunities for practising midwives and inadequate working and living conditions for midwives in rural areas.

In addition to the general shortage of midwives, another problem is that healthcare staff are migrating from rural areas. Around 65% of midwives in Sierra Leone work in urban centers, although more than two thirds of all pregnancies take place in rural areas. The main reasons for the exodus are the isolation and poor working conditions in health stations with a lack of equipment and inadequate accommodation for health staff.

In order to support government strategies and counteract the shortage of midwives, action medeor and its local partner organization Caritas Bo founded a midwifery school in Bo in 2017. Every year, 50 state-certified midwives graduate from the school after two years of theoretical and practical training. As part of this project, the need for further practical training as well as further training and networking of midwives in Sierra Leone was identified.

The project: promoting practical midwifery training

The joint project of action medeor and the partner organization Caritas Bo aims to strengthen practical midwifery training. To achieve this goal, the midwifery training curriculum is being revised in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and relevant organizations and representatives of other midwifery schools in the country, among others. Furthermore, midwives from rural health facilities are being trained as certified practical instructors.

In addition to improving training, two existing community health centers will be developed into centers for clinical midwifery training and high-quality (emergency) obstetric care as part of the project. To this end, necessary renovation work will be carried out, particularly in the maternity ward area. Regular training sessions will be held in these two centers for clinical midwifery training in order to strengthen the transfer of knowledge and skills, especially in dealing with complications. 

Implementation of continuous professional development at the midwifery school in Bo

Together with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, a training plan for practicing midwives is being developed. A total of 150 midwives - 60 of whom are practice supervisors - are to be offered three further training courses in which they can expand their professional and personal skills. The further training courses will take place at the midwifery school in Bo and at the Gerihun training center, which will also establish the midwifery school as a further training center.