Scale-up of strengthening Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) programme in Kwara state

Scale-up of strengthening Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) programme in Kwara state

Project 17 Mar 2021
88

Johnson & Johnson Scale Up - 1st March 2018 – 31st August 2020 

The project was to consolidate the achievements and gains made in strengthening Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) and the quality of maternal and newborn care services in 21 health care facilities (HCFs) across 7 Local Government Areas in Kwara state. The project was implemented in 27 Health Care Facilities (HCFs) in 9 additional Local Government Areas (LGAs). In collaboration with University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), we strengthened the capacity of faculty to provide quality teaching and support the integration of EmONC training into both undergraduate and post-graduate medical education. At the end of the 30-month programme, all 16 LGAs in Kwara have been supported to provide quality emergency obstetric and early newborn care services the capacity of medical doctors at the UITH were strengthened through the extended EmONC training.

As with previous programmes, LSTM engaged the professional medical and nursing/midwifery associations and regulatory bodies, to advocate for the recognition of EmONC training as a key component of continuous medical education. Specifically, LSTM engaged both national and state bodies to promote this.

Operational research was conducted to measure what works, where and how. Research findings and evidence will be widely disseminated, to inform best practice and sustain these interventions in Kwara state.

The overall objective was to increase the availability and quality of care for mothers and babies at selected CEmONC and BEmONC HCFs in 16 LGAs in Kwara State.

The specific objectives of are to:

  1. Improve the quality of Emergency Obstetric Care and Newborn Care (EmONC) in forty-eight (48) HCFs across 16 LGAs in Kwara State.
  2. Improve the capacity of hospitals in Kwara state to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and perioperative care.
  3. Strengthen the capacity of health care providers in the targeted HCFs in maternal and perinatal death reviews.
  4. Support the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital to strengthen the capacity of its faculty, to improve the quality of its EmONC teaching, and integrate EmONC components into its curriculum.
  5. Promote the development of a framework to institute regular and mandatory training of maternity care providers in EmONC.
  6. Generate evidence through operational research on effective and sustainable approaches to enhance the capacity of health care workers to provide quality maternal and newborn care services.

The key achievements 

In-service competency-based training in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmOC&NC):

  • 450 Health Care Providers (HCPs) were anticipated to be trained, 452 were trained.
  • 32 Master Trainers were anticipated to be trained, 35 were trained.

Build capacity of health workers at UITH to provide CemOC, provide support for EmOC  at other facilities:

  • 64 were targeted - 69 Medical Doctors were trained in EmOC&NC.
  • 10 were targeted – 20 Master Trainers were trained.
  • 48 were targeted - 60 Medical Doctors were trained on the Advanced EmONC.

Quality improvement (QI): 90 participants completed workshops in QI. QI teams were supported to conduct a standards-based audit, and maternal and perinatal death audit, to identify areas for quality improvement, and develop and implement work plans to improve the quality of care.

National Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR):

Skills room: 5 Skills room were set in 5 LGAs

Monitoring and Evaluation: Routinely collected healthcare facility data and data from programme outputs are aggregated quarterly to inform the log frame indicators where applicable and to monitor progress with programme implementation as well as effectiveness.

Facility Improvement Funds (FIF): 27 Health Care Facilities were donated with basic equipment to aid them in their daily health care services.

  • Refresher training: 50 were targeted and 63 were trained