The maternal and new born ‘soldier’ would be deployed in rural communities where there are growing challenges in the fight to reduce maternal and new-born deaths in the country. The school which was established in January 2010 has a traditional annual intake for a two year training programme for both the public and private sectors. The school has trained over 400 graduates since its inception.
Head of School, Mrs. Francess Fornah said the five year old institution has grown in status and stature with limited human resource to make it more viable, and appealed for urgent assistance so that the 16 staff that are rendering selfless service to the school will be put on government payroll.
She told the audience that 135 students are currently in training and appealed for the construction of additional staff quarters and hostel accommodation since the present structure accommodates only 35 students.
Mrs Fornah said the School in collaboration with the Directorate of Nursing Services and the Nurses and Midwives Board, was able to review the school’s curriculum to meet with international standards and thanked UNFPA, WHO and the Medical Research Centre (MRU) for their continued support.
To the set of four (4) certified midwives, the Head of School encouraged them to adopt an optimistic attitude and to be honest and dedicated workers.
The Chief Nursing Officer, Matron Hossinatu Kanu rated the training of midwives as far back as the early 1560, describing the midwife as a person who has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and, or legally licensed to practice midwifery.
She said despite the gains made by the government in the health sector, maternal and child mortality remain what she referred to as intractably high, with 156 per 1,000 and 1165 per 100,000 live births, according to the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey by Statistic Sierra Leone. These poor health indicators, she said, are as a result of a range of implementation challenges including the critical shortage of health workers that the country is currently facing, pointing out only 288 midwives with 48 percent serving in Freetown from the UNFPA 2014 Draft Midwifery mapping.
She disclosed that there is now provision for nurses and midwives to become Specialists and Consultants in their different disciplines, adding that Nurses and Midwifery Tutors were omitted in the previous scheme of work but have now been included into the scheme.
The other good news disclosed was the change in the nomenclature of Maternal and Child Health Aides and Nursing Aides to Assistants with provision of six months Nursing Assistants training. Plans are also currently underway for capacity building to develop standards for nursing and midwifery education and practice as part of a continuous quality improvement for posterity, the Chief Nursing Officer said.
She encouraged the newly certified midwives to combine their responsibility to managing other staff with ongoing activities, work as a team, and endeavour to carry out research that would help move the profession forward.
The UNFPA Country Representative, Dr. Bannet Ndyanabangi lauded the school for the progress made, and congratulated the midwives for the successful completion of the training. He reiterated UNFPA’s continued commitment and support to the development of midwifery in Sierra Leone.
Making the Keynote address on the theme “Strengthening Quality Midwifery Care”, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation 1, Foday Sawi Lahai described the newly certified midwives as foot soldiers and heroines that are produce to provide quality health care for the maternal and new born.
He noted the constraints and challenges in working in remote areas, inadequate housing, incentives motivation, and the request for additional hostels and staff quarters for the school to strengthen output.
He reminded the audience about the re-emergence of the Ebola with the potential attack on Guinea, describing the situation as a battle to stay zero, and implored Sierra Leoneans to avoid complacency as the Ministry and partners are working towards ensuring sustainable zero.
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