In November 2011, David Holmes led the fourth IHLSF visit as part of our three-year training programme to improve maternal and child health in Kambia District. Over six days, David and his Gloucestershire team ran training courses in obstetric emergencies, adult and neonatal resuscitation, general midwifery and nursing care for 84 health workers at the district hospital in Kambia.

Fortune Ibrahim, one of Kambia Community Health Officers who has taken part in a number of the Kambia Appeal training courses gave his response to the project:

“The training for CHOs has been very necessary and applicable within our communities by improving our life-saving skills. The training programme so far has already helped us manage critical conditions, such as post-partum haemorrhage and the resuscitation of new-born babies. These skills are very important out in the PHUs beyond the District Hospital, and will help to bring down maternal mortality to a very low level.”

Our thanks to David, Clare, Rob, Anneke, Angela, Charlotte, Alison, Jen and Laura! The next visit is planned for March this year.

To find out more about the IHLFS project click here.

The 3-day course costs £350 per participant.

For further information click here

The Kambia Appeal has now qualified to become a member of BOND, the UK membership body for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in international development.

Established in 1993 on the initiative of 61 NGOs working in international development, Bond has 358 members (at 31 March 2011) ranging from large bodies with a world-wide presence to smaller, specialist organisations working in certain regions or with specific groups of people.

To found out more about Bond, click here

The third training visit to Sierra Leone as part of the Kambia/Gloucestershire International Health Link Funding Scheme (IHLFS) took place last month, May 2011.  Maud Hardy, midwife from Leeds, and Sonia Maisey, Intensive Care Nurse from Cheltenham, ran courses at the Kambia Hospital in obstetrics, adult and neonatal resuscitation and basic nursing skills over five days for 29 Maternal and Child Health Aides (MCHAs) and 28 Voluntary Nursing Aides (VNAs).

The visit was part of the three-year funded project to provide training to staff at the Kambia Hospital and rural health centres throughout the district to improve maternal healthcare skills.  Further visits are planned for this year and next. The project is run jointly between The Kambia Appeal, the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Kambia District Health Management Team.

MCHAs (in the pink uniforms) work out in the district running health centres where they provide antenatal care and safe deliveries. They have three years of MCHA training before they qualify.  Topics covered during this refresher training visit included normal pregnancy and labour, neonatal resuscitation and recognising and dealing with obstetric emergencies.  Nursing Aides (in blue) are ‘untrained’ and work at the Kambia Hospital as volunteers.  They are unpaid and learn nursing skills on the job. Their refresher training included hand hygiene, disposal of sharps, identifying shock in adult patients and adult resuscitation. All the trainees complete a pre and post training questionnaire, so that skill levels can be determined and progress tracked. All MCHAs and VNAs in Kambia receive annual refresher training over the three years as part of the IHLFS programme.

If you would like to take part in midwifery training in Kambia in 2011 or 2012, please contact David Holmes on 08454 222337. Visits are usually 10 days long, comprising 5 days on intensive training.  The cost of flights, travel visas, board and lodging and vaccinations is provided by the IHLFS grant.  Accommodation is at The Kambia Appeal’s permanent base in Kambia Town.

Find out more about the Kambia Appeal’s IHLFS project.

MCHAs discussing stages of normal labour

Sonia Maisey with voluntary nurses during her nursing skills course

Maud Hardy giving refresher training in obstetrics to MCHAs

MCHAs sit the post-training questionnaire

It’s all over!

Clare Adams and Rob McFaul have been out in Kambia working for the Appeal since January.  Read all about their experiences and adventures in Sierra Leone.

Click here to read their fantastic blog.

Find out more about the IHLFS in Kambia here