Clinical health workers in Migori have benefited from a hemorrhage mentorship training programme aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality in the county. Speaking during the mentorship programme at one of the hotels in Migori Town, the National Master Trainer on hemorrhage mentorship Denis Ochieng said that the mentorship package was rolled out by the national government to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the country. Hemorrhage is a condition of severe bleeding after childbirth and is considered as one of the leading direct causes of maternal deaths in the country. 32 clinical officers and nurses from across the county were trained in competent skills on how to use the Non-pneumatic Anti-shock Garment (NASG), a low-cost technology and a first aid mechanism that is meant to support and prevent Post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) in women during emergencies. Ochieng noted that the hemorrhage mentorship programme was a practical-centered approach aimed at training and mentoring the clinic health workers in order to improve maternal care in the country. ‘Initially we have been training and mentoring our clinical health workers through other models that were theoretically best with little impact in reducing maternal and infant mortality’, said Ochieng. The official emphasied that the programme will identify champion mentors to retrain other health workers across the county as well as improve the relationship between the champions and mentors. Migori County Nursing Officer Alice Munga noted that the county maternal indicators were comprehensively better with birth attendance standing at 90 percent in the 238 health facilities in the county. Munga acknowledged that the county maternal death stood at around 392 per 100,000 live births occurrences but noted that more strategies were being put in place like the hemorrhage mentorship package to try and reduce maternal deaths. The health official however, encouraged pregnant women to adhere to the four pre-natal care attendances to help address any complications that may arise during the delivery period. Munga said that the county’s pre-natal care: four mandatory visits stood at 52 percent but with the hemorrhage mentorship programme the county aims to reach 70 percent. She affirmed that the 32 clinical officers and nurses will be hemorrhage Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) to help retrain other health workers in their respective healthcare facilities to help reduce the mortality rate. Ferida Owendi, nurse-midwife and one of the mentorship beneficiaries said that it was a privilege to be mentored and promised to pass on the skills and knowledge to her peers at her training facility. She added that the hemorrhage programme skills will help to manage emergencies at the local hospitals before referrals are made to prevent unnecessary maternal deaths caused by Post-partum Hemorrhage (PPH). Lwala Community Alliance NGO in Migori County has been at the forefront in helping the Migori health department in addressing the hemorrhage condition. The NGO has so far distributed 985 NASG to both public and private health facilities in the county as well as trained 322 hemorrhage mentors.
Source: Kenya News Agency