LSTM’s Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health (CMNH) has worked in Kenya since 2009 and last year secured a new £9.3 million grant to continue their work with health professionals in the country until 2018.
The grant was awarded by the Department for International Development (DFID) as an extension of CMNH’s Making it Happen programme, which is working to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity across eleven countries in Asia and Africa, including Kenya.
The extension is an affirmation of the work CMNH has already done in the country with the Kenya Ministry of Health and Public Sanitation and represents the third phase of activity under the Making it Happen programme.
Making it Happen aims to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity by increasing the availability and quality of Skilled Birth Attendance and Emergency Obstetric Care and Newborn Care (EOC&NC). It utilises the skills of UK trained volunteer midwives and obstetricians to train health professionals in country.
The programme has three main components:
(1) competency-based training packages in EOC&NC;
(2) strengthening of data collection and use in the facilities and for research; and
(3) introduction of a Quality Improvement methodology.
The second phase of the Making it Happen programme in Kenya was worth over £3 million and worked in 15 counties.
The new £9.3 million extension extends the programme nationwide, taking in the remaining 32 counties.
It runs from 2014 to 2018 and will train 5,504 healthcare workers in EOC&NC; 300 as trainers to continue the training in-country; 128 as Course Directors to lead the delivery of further training courses; 480 in improved data collection and usage; and 480 in implementing a Quality Improvement methodology.