Midwives trained to enhance maternal and child health in Kisii

Nairobi residents join students from Pumwani School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Kenya Medical Training College to learn about family planning methods. PHOTO| FILE

Kisii County has partnered with Amref to train 44 midwives to boost maternal and child healthcare.

The midwives were empowered to become perinatal educators, and are expected to offer modern and innovative, quality services to mothers and children during the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life – from pregnancy to birth and thereafter.

Kisii and Nairobi counties were chosen to pilot the Kenya Innovative and Sustainable Solutions for Midwife Education and Employment (KISSMEE) project.

The beneficiaries were trained by the ISOMUM Institute at the Amref International University.

Access to real-time solutions for maternal and child healthcare issues are limited, so the initiative dubbed Tunza Mama will offer mothers access to essential maternal and child healthcare services at home, from competent caregivers.

Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi said the health intervention would help increase universal access to healthcare for women of reproductive age.

“The caregivers have been trained on current evidence-based trends in birth planning, preparation, newborn and infant care support, breastfeeding and lactation coaching, exclusive breastfeeding and safe early nutrition practices,” he said during the launch of the programme at a Kisii hotel.

“Our county and nation needs evidence-based and sustainable solutions to enable equitable access to quality healthcare.

“It is important to start appreciating communities as groups of people with unique health needs,” he added, and asked development partners to help the county explore task-shifting to fill the gap of health workforce shortages in counties and national health systems.