Southern Ethiopia - Gwent Health Link

Training programmes

Training of frontline health workers working in resource poor settings has always been one of the main priorities of our link.

Skills workshop for the Midwives / nurses involved in care of the pregnant mothers - November 2007

48 midwives /nurses attended this four day skills course, all for the very first time in such a workshop. Many traveled long distances, some for 4 days and over 1000 km to attend the course.

The aims of this midwifery programme were to update nurse/midwives in emergency obstetric drills, in common obstetric problems, to provide course participants with the knowledge and skills to teach others, to provide a support mechanism for nurse/midwives working alone in isolated areas of southern Ethiopia.

Apart from the five senior midwifery tutors from the link, two obstetricians and a midwifery tutor from Hwassa College taught the participants.

The course participants were given several challenges including raising awareness amongst local women of the facilities available at the health centre, to ensure a clean and friendly environment at the Health Centre (HC) / Hospital, to maintain privacy and dignity during childbirth, to encourage women to adopt an upright position in labor and birth, to limit the use of episiotomy, to teach skills to colleagues at the HCs and to the health extension workers. Pre and post course evaluation showed high degree of appreciation from the participants.

CME in Emergency skills workshop for the Health Officers, November 2007

28 HOs attended, majority for the first time in such a workshop.

The aims of this workshop were to strengthen skills in the management of trauma, acute surgical and obstetric emergency problems in resource poor and remote setting.

Three faculty members from Wales were joined by another three from the Hwassa College. This five day workshop was held in the skills lab in Hwassa College which has already been developed with several manikins and other teaching equipment by our link. The participants were trained through hands on practice on manikins in case scenario based simulation. Participants were also given challenges to device from common everyday material essential items in trauma care such as splints, neck collars etc. A joint session between the graduate HOs and final year student HOs offered valuable exchange of experiences and expectations between the two groups.

The feed back from the participants were very good and they particularly praised the hands on nature of the teaching.

Laboratory skills training

In March 2007 our laboratory team together with an infection control specialist visited Hwassa hospital and the four teaching HCs in SNNPR. During this visit the team supported teaching of laboratory science students in Hwassa College. The team also explored the areas of problem related to infection control in Hwassa hospital and in the HCs and made recommendations for improvement. After discussion with the local partners a Continuing Professional Development workshop is planned in March 2008 for the graduate laboratory technicians working in remote facilities in SNNPR.