IDEA Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) Training in Nepal
For more than 20 years, the Innovative Development Education Academy (IDEA) in Pokhara, Nepal had been running an 18-month midwifery education/training course for girls and women from remote areas of Nepal which helped save lives of mothers and children in the remote areas of Nepal. In 2019-2021 TRAS was able to pay for 10 students to receive their Midwifery Certificate.
Read more about the IDEA Midwifery Project here.
This “old” program was cancelled by the Nepalese Ministry of Health at all institutes without their own 100-bed hospital, so IDEA was compelled to seek alternative ways to offer training. In coordination with the Ministry of Health, IDEA was able to implement an intensive 3-month Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) course. The SBA course is offered to medical personnel (2 month residential and 1 month internship training) so they can augment the midwifes’ work by intervening where difficult deliveries mean mother and baby are at risk.
IDEA will be selecting 15 students every three months for this advanced SBA training with the requirement that after graduation they will be returning to their rural communities to help provide safe delivery for mothers and babies. The results of this program have been very successful and the Ministry of health is satisfied.
In November, 2024 Mr R.C.Devkota, Founder and Director of IDEA wrote: IDEA has a long history of development experience in rural Nepal since its establishment in 1984. One of the most successful development programs is promotion and production of health personnel and development of their professional capabilities through education and training. We have 25 years of experience in production of midwives through midwifery education in Nepal to support the Government of Nepal for the grassroots level health workers like Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM). Now we have been focusing on Skill Birth Attendant (SBA) training to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to reduce mortality rate during deliveries. All these SBAs will be available at all the rural birthing centres to cater the needs of the rural population. Thus, we need the support from TRAS to train many more SBAs in the days to come to meet the demand of health professionals in Nepal. The goal of the National Safe Motherhood program is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and to improve the maternal and neonatal health through preventive and promotive activities as well as addressing avoidable factors that causes death during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. Evidence suggest the factors behind the maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality outcome in Nepal are delay in seeking care; delay in reaching care; and delay in receiving care. Thus, SBA training is vital to meet the demand.
From 2022 to 2026 TRAS has agreed to support 15 students and currently needs $17,000 CAD ($1,134 CAD for each student). A generous donor has already provided some funding for this project, and we are hoping that others will match his donation.
