Day 10

A birthing kit for a midwifery mission in Sierra Leone

A happy birth in your pocket A happy birth in your pocket

A birthing kit for a midwifery mission in Sierra Leone
Day 10
Supporting rural midwives in the most important job in the world

Jayah Bockarie graduated from the midwifery school in Bo just a few months ago. Before his training, he worked for over four years as a community nurse on the beautiful Bonthe peninsula, a place right on the Atlantic coast that can only be reached by boat. He regularly transported pregnant women with birth complications to a larger hospital in a small boat. During one of the crossings, a pregnant woman had serious complications. This prompted him to learn more about complications and their early detection. He went to Bo for the two-year training. Since his return to Bonthe, he has already treated several complicated cases, which he either referred promptly or was able to provide professional care himself. The combination of specialist knowledge and sensitivity to the needs of women makes him a special male midwife.

Supporting rural midwives in the most important job in the world
Supporting rural midwives in the most important job in the world
need
Medical supplies and protective equipment for midwives in rural areas of Sierra Leone to carry out safe births
activity
The Bo Midwifery School procures medical equipment for rural midwives in the southern province of Bo and trains them in obstetric standards
Measurable performance
Number of obstetric kits provided to midwives
Result
It is expected that at least 120 more midwives will be able to carry out safe births and antenatal examinations than in the previous year
Systemically relevant impact
Improving the health of mothers and their children in Sierra Leone and reducing maternal and infant mortality.
background


Sierra Leone, like many countries, has a shortage of midwives. According to the World Health Organization, the country needs about 3,000 midwives. In reality, only about half that number are currently working (UNFPA, 2020). This is one of several reasons why many women still die in childbirth in Sierra Leone, even though maternal mortality has decreased since 2020 (WHO, 2023).

In order to further combat maternal mortality, a midwifery school was opened in Bo in 2017 together with the Ministry of Health. Since then, around 150 new midwives have completed their training there every year. As soon as the newly trained staff take up their posts in rural health stations, they are often confronted with the reality that they have difficulty implementing the content they have learned because the necessary medical materials are missing in the health stations. Pregnant women often have to pay for gloves, medication or syringes themselves, which often prevents them from going to a health station for the birth. Long-standing midwives in rural areas also face these challenges. In order to be able to carry out safe prenatal care, births and aftercare, protective gear, medication and equipment are required. Equipped with midwifery bags, they can visit patients on the move and always have their personal equipment with them, even when they change health stations. Continuous training and refresher courses on WHO obstetric standards are also important to improve the quality of obstetric care.

Sierra Leone Southern Province Bo
Day 10 Day 10
The Good Deed

With your donation and others, around 120 rural midwives in the southern province of Sierra Leone will be equipped with midwifery bags and birthing kits. Since many health stations do not have sufficient equipment, the kits contain personal protective equipment, disinfectants and material for umbilical care for births or antenatal examinations. The bags also contain instruments such as a blood pressure monitor to detect warning signs and medication to treat the mother and newborn in an emergency. With this equipment, the midwives are able to detect difficult pregnancies early and bring them to the hospital in time, as well as carry out uncomplicated births themselves. The midwives also receive refresher courses in obstetric standards, the use of midwifery bags and the recognition of early warning signs. This helps prevent avoidable complications and deaths of mothers and children in remote regions.

About Sierra Leone
Freetown
Freetown
Capital city
8,791,092
8,791,092
population
as of 2023
433.4
433.4
Gross domestic product per capita per year in USD
as of 2023
0.458
0.458
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)
as of 2023/2024

In Sierra Leone, the common language is Krio, a creole language based on English. The greeting is "How de body?" which literally means "How is the body?"