Responding to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

A maternal and child health aide described a newborn baby as “pale and floppy” following a complex caesarean. “Previously we would have just wrapped the baby in a blanket and thought there was nothing we could do, but now we know what to do.” Because of International Medical Corps’ pilot training program, the maternal and child health aide used her newly-acquired skills and successfully resuscitated the baby. She was so proud of what she had done and she said her colleagues all thought she was a hero. Since then, the maternal and child health aide believes up to 40 babies have been saved due to the teams’ improved understanding of newborn resuscitation.

Flexible and generous funding from GlobalGiving and other donors enables International Medical Corps to make strategic investments to address gaps in Ebola preparedness and response capacity within the health system and in communities. For example, the Northern Province of Sierra Leone – where Port Loko District and our midwifery pilot project are located – has the lowest rate of births attended by skilled birth attendants and the lowest number of institutional deliveries in the country.

The health needs of its population of more than 500,000 are met by only 107 Primary Health Units and two hospitals providing secondary and tertiary care. During the Ebola outbreak, the number of cases in Port Loko District was second only to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. One way our teams are addressing gaps in infection prevention and control readiness is by training maternal and child health aides, individuals who are responsible for maternal and newborn health in Sierra Leone’s health system.

Today, we have trained 50 maternal and child health aides with our midwifery mentorship program, supporting increased infection prevention control measures as well as training on emergency obstetric and maternal and newborn health practices – like newborn resuscitation – improving health workers’ ability to keep themselves and mothers and babies safe. The lives of many women and newborns have already been saved as a result of International Medical Corps’ pilot midwifery training and mentorship program for maternal and child health aides and midwives in Port Loko District of Sierra Leone.

People are regaining confidence in the safety of health facilities because of infection prevention control training, and are making greater use of their services for maternal health care and other needs. We thank you and the GlobalGiving community for your support as we continue to build health care confidence in the post-Ebola context.