Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) Training in Nepal
For more than 20 years, the Innovative Development Education Academy (IDEA) in Pokhara, Nepal has been running an intensive 18‑month midwifery education and training program for girls and women from remote Himalayan communities. This program has played a crucial role in improving maternal and child health in regions where access to skilled birth attendants is extremely limited.
Graduates return to their villages equipped with life‑saving skills, helping reduce preventable deaths among mothers and newborns and strengthening community health systems in places that need it most.
Between 2019 and 2021, TRAS provided funding for 10 students to complete the midwifery program and earn their Midwifery Certificate, directly contributing to safer births and healthier families across rural Nepal.
Read more about the IDEA Midwifery Project here.
The long‑running midwifery program at IDEA was discontinued after the Nepalese Ministry of Health mandated that only institutes with their own 100‑bed hospital could offer midwifery education. As a result, IDEA was compelled to find an alternative way to continue training urgently needed maternal‑health workers. In coordination with the Ministry of Health, IDEA successfully launched an intensive three‑month Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) course.
This program provides two months of residential training followed by a one‑month internship and is offered to existing medical personnel so they can support midwives and intervene during complicated deliveries where the lives of mothers and newborns may be at risk.
IDEA now selects 15 students every three months for this advanced SBA training, with the requirement that graduates return to their rural communities to provide safe delivery services. The results have been highly encouraging, and the Ministry of Health has expressed its satisfaction with the program’s effectiveness.
IDEA’s Founder and Director, Mr. R.C. Devkota, wrote:
IDEA has a long history of development experience in rural Nepal since its establishment in 1984. One of our most successful programs has been the promotion and production of health personnel and the development of their professional capabilities through education and training. We have 25 years of experience producing midwives to support the Government of Nepal at the grassroots level, particularly Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs).
We are now focusing on Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) training to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to lower mortality rates during delivery. SBAs are deployed to rural birthing centres to meet the needs of remote populations. We therefore need continued support from TRAS to train many more SBAs to meet Nepal’s growing demand for qualified health professionals.
The goal of the National Safe Motherhood Program is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and improve health outcomes through preventive and promotive activities, while addressing avoidable factors that cause death during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Evidence shows that delays in seeking care, reaching care, and receiving care are key contributors to maternal and newborn mortality. SBA training is essential to overcoming these barriers.
From 2022 to 2026, TRAS has committed to supporting 15 SBA trainees yearly and currently requires $17,000 CAD to complete this commitment (approximately $1,134 CAD per student). A generous donor has already contributed toward this goal, and we hope others will join him in supporting this vital program.
Click here for ways to donate
Reports from IDEA
