The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), an NGO that works in partnership with LSTM’s Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health (CMNH), has been selected as one of the favourite NGOs by the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network.
After being nominated by members of the network, a small number were featured online, including WBFA, which works in partnership with CMNH and Johnson & Johnson to deliver emergency obstetrics “skills and drills” training. The WBFA was founded by Toyin Saraki after her own devastating experience of childbirth in Nigeria lead to the loss of one of her twin daughters.
CMNH works with NGOs and government ministries across 11 countries in Asia and Africa to address the international imbalance in maternal and newborn mortality. It provides training through a number of programmes including in emergency obstetric and newborn care and skilled birth attendance.
Dr Charles Ameh, Deputy Head of LSTM’s CMNH, said: “I am delighted that the work of Toyin and the WBFA has been recognised in this way. The partnership that we have formed with them and Johnson & Johnson aims to lower maternal mortality by 20% in the Nigerian state of Kwara, but is only one part of the work that we undertake in the country. CMNH has been working in Nigeria since 2012 and has trained nearly 800 in service health workers and over 100 master trainers in Emergency Obstetrics Newborn Care, as well as being awarded a service contract by UNICEF Nigeria last year to carry out an independent evaluation of the multi-agency health interventions that make up Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Weeks.
Dr Ameh continued: “2015 was another very successful year for CNMH and I hope that our work in 2016 will continue to reach those women most at risk and save the lives of more women and their babies.”