Three of our team, Hannah McCauley, Adama Traore and Desire Bakusa, recently travelled to Togo to meet with a number of key stakeholders and support a group of healthcare providers to deliver training in antenatal and postnatal care (ANC/PNC). This group of healthcare providers have previously been specially trained by CMNH staff to become Master Trainers in ANC/PNC. Their task as Master Trainers is to roll out ANC/PNC training to their colleagues and peers across the country.
In August 2019, this group of Master Trainers as well as colleagues from the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Togo, representatives from the Permanent Secretaries Office and Senior Managers of healthcare facilities, undertook refresher training in how to effectively deliver a ANC/PNC competency-based workshop to fellow healthcare providers. The workshop, designed by the Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health with support from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, covers all aspects of what is needed to meet the physical, mental and social aspects of maternal and newborn health. The focus is on evidence-based screening, therapeutic interventions and health promotion during and after pregnancy. It also supports healthcare providers regarding how they can provide respectful maternity care and screen for and manage domestic violence and depression during and after pregnancy.
The Master Trainers are now preparing to roll out the training across three districts in Togo – Maritime, Plateaux and Savanes. The ANC/PNC workshops will be conducted in primary and secondary healthcare facilities and will be delivered to healthcare providers who are directly involved in providing antenatal and postnatal care.
Adama Traore, the Senior Technical Officer who is overseeing and co-ordinating the programme said:
“This has been a fantastic opportunity for the Master Trainers to refine and refresh their skills prior to training their colleagues, who are delivering care to women during and after pregnancy across Togo. I am delighted that we are able to collaborate with the MoH on this project to ensure our work is sustainable, setting-specific and had input from leaders who are experts within the Togolese health system.”