Training course for nurses and midwives in Ghana

Madrid, November 2nd. We have inaugurated the Obstetric Ultrasound Training Course for Nurses and Midwives taught by the General Nursing Council of Spain, with the collaboration of the Nurse Solidarity Foundation and the Higher Institute of Health Training (ISFOS), in two of the most deprived communities in Ghana: Tamale and Ho, in the Volta and Northern regions respectively.

This month-long training of trainers is part of an ambitious project promoted by the Foundation to improve both access to and delivery of reproductive health services in these rural areas.

During this project, not only will midwives and nurses be trained in the use of obstetric ultrasound scanners, but the two rural communities will also be equipped with around twenty mobile ultrasound units and awareness of the importance of prenatal care will be raised in health centres. According to a new United Nations report, a woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a 130 times greater risk of dying from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth than a woman in Europe. Training, equipping and raising awareness is essential if we want to strengthen the continent’s health systems and change the statistics.

The project is financed by the Ministry of Economy, Knowledge and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands through the Directorate General for Economic Affairs with Africa.