Project News

As one of the activities of the project, before the implementation of in-service training for midwives, a task force launched its preparation work for in-service training. One of the most important tasks was to develop a guide for in-service training. The theme of the training was decided to focus on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC), based on the needs of midwives in terms of knowledge and skills. The task force gathered protocols and textbooks related to the EmONC in Djibouti and elaborated them to allow trainers to conduct lectures on the basis of mutual recognition. As a result, the task force completed the guide for the in-service training (EmONC training guide), which is composed of 12 modules, such as "maternal mortality/abnormality and perinatal mortality/abnormality", "neonatal care" and "management of obstetric hemorrhage". Each module includes achievement goals, model plan and topics of lecture. In addition, pretest /posttest, evaluation sheet and protocols are attached to the guide as additional materials.

In September 2013, a meeting was held to validate this EmONC training guide. Minister of Health, representatives of Japanese embassy in Djibouti and JICA Djibouti Office, development partners (donor agencies), such as World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and directors and midwife supervisors of health facilities participated in this meeting. During the meeting, JICA expert and representatives of the Maternal and Child Health Department of Ministry of Health, who is a counterpart of this project, discussed the contents of EmONC training guide with the above-mentioned participants, which eventually led to the official approval for the guide.

At the same time, the project provided training of trainers (TOT) to the trainers of in-service training and the in-charges of training follow-ups at health facilities. The objective of the TOT is to standardize their understanding of the training contents, and improve their teaching skills and its quality. A total of 17 participants, including teachers of Higher Institute of Health Sciences (ISSS) which is the basic midwifery education institute, midwife supervisors and deputy midwife supervisors of referral hospitals, and directors and deputy directors of other health facilities, have completed the training. While the members of the task force including medical specialists, such as an obstetrician and gynecologist, a resuscitation specialist and a pediatrician, senior lecturers of the ISSS and officers of the Maternal and Child Health Department of MOH joined as a trainer, they also improved their teaching skills.

A third-country expert (obstetrician and gynecologist at Orangers maternity hospital in Rabat city), who is the director in EmONC diploma course at a university in Morocco, was invited to the TOT. This expert has an experience of being involved in similar in-service training program provided by a JICA project in Morocco. Therefore, he supported the training using his experience, pointed out the importance of facilitation skills to clearly convey the contents of lectures and to promote the understanding of participants, and provided enthusiastic guidance with gesture. He also contributed to finalize the training guide. Therefore, the base for implementing the in-service training was consolidated.