Project profile — Safer Obstetrics in Rural Tanzania

• Tanzania (100.00%)

• Basic health care:
Basic health care (12220) (50.00%)
Health personnel development (12281) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The goal of the project is to improve the health of mothers and newborns by assisting Tanzania’s Ministry of Health in training 1,300 non-physician health professionals to improve their ability to provide quality obstetrical care. The project provides training to 96 senior instructors, who in turn train local trainers in the towns of Mbeya, Tanga, Moshi, and Mwanza. The medical training schools owned and funded by the Ministry of Health provide training to clinical officers, midwives and assistant medical officers to teach them to: (i) identify patients who require referral; (ii) provide emergency obstetrical care; and (iii) conduct caesarean sections. As a result, 576 clinical officers, 576 administrative medical officers, 40 obstetrics professionals and 96 midwives are expected to have increased skills in emergency surgical and obstetrical care contributing directly to reducing illness and death in mothers and newborns in rural Tanzania. The Canadian Network for International Surgery works with the Mbeya Medical Training School, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre Medical Training School, Tanga Medical Training School, Bugando Medical Training School, and the Ministry of Health And Social Development to implement this project. This project is part of Canada’s maternal, newborn and child health commitment. The maximum CIDA contribution to this project includes $10,000 for monitoring purposes.

N/A

At the project's conclusion in August 2014, cumulative results achieved include: i) the curriculum for four courses was successfully developed and reviewed at annual networking meetings; ii) 2,409 Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs), Clinical Officers and midwives were trained in basic and advanced operative and medical obstetric skills; iii). 93% of trained non-physicians performed essential obstetric surgical interventions after completing the Structured Operative Obstetric course; iv) 66% of AMOs showed improved scores relating to their knowledge of treating critical post-partum cases; v) 80% of AMOs improved their scores regarding knowledge of obstetric interventions; vi) 836 senior instructors were trained to assist in conducting courses; and vii) 267 trainers of trainers were certified. Overall, the project surpassed almost all targets for outcomes and activities and contributed to improving the ability of health care workers to provide better obstetric, maternal, and newborn health-care.

• Proactive disclosure