December 1st will be a day that many Liberian mothers will never forget.
Here in the town of Zwedru in southeastern Liberia, a midwife training school has just opened. The school, run jointly by Merlin and the Liberian Ministry of Health with the support of McCall MacBain, a private foundation, has just accepted its first enrollment of 45 students.
The two-year midwifery training course is meeting an urgent need. With only 297 certified midwives serving the entire country’s population of 3.8 million people, it is estimated that Liberia needs at least another 1,000 midwives.
The lack of trained midwives in the country has proven tragic. Today in Liberia, twice as many women die in childbirth than 10 years ago.
Merlin has been working with the national government as well as local communities in the underserved southeastern region of the country to help stop this appalling loss of life.
Dr. Asmatullah Khan, Merlin's Country Health Director in Liberia, said,“Given Liberia’s high maternal mortality rate, increasing access to and availability of skilled birth attendants is essential if mothers are to survive the journey through pregnancy and child birth.”
“The school will not only increase the human resource capacity of Liberia in the long run but is also unique as it is trying to tackle the shortage of midwives in the much neglected southeastern region,” adds Khan. “Most importantly, the tuition is free for all students,”
The new school officially opened at its temporary location while the permanent site is being built. The temporary site has been refurbished and upgraded to include a library, clinical skills lab and classrooms.
The opening ceremony was attended by guests including government representatives, other international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local press. Classes have already started for the 45 eager midwifery students that were introduced at the ceremony. They are enrolled for 2008-2010.
Certified by the Liberian Board of Nursing and Midwifery, the curriculum is rigorous and relevant to Liberian health standards and procedures. After graduating, students are committed to working in their own communities for at least three years, making sure that even the most remote areas have access to a certified midwife.
Having this new school in Zwedru is not only important for the staff and students, it's a lifeline for thousands of mothers and babies who can look forward to a safer and healthier future.
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