Safer Hands

Safer hands aims to train and empower frontline rural healthcare providers on actions  that mediates good pregnancy outcomes.

Every pregnant Woman deserves a chance to be able to carry her pregnancy safely to term, and deliver safely without complication to her and her child. But however, this isn’t the situation with most pregnancies in Nigeria whereby only a few are handled by Health care personnel at a Healthcare facility. Overall delivery in a health facility is Thirty percent (38%) and only thirty six percent (36%) of deliveries are conducted by skilled birth attendants in Nigeria (NDHS, 2013), which are very significantly low figures.

Also, in most rural communities within the Nation, majority of deliveries are being handled by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). These rural areas contribute greatly to the maternal mortality ratio and according to the World health Organization (WHO), the Traditional birth attendants has been identified as an important tool for the reduction of maternal mortality in developing nations such as Nigeria.

Hence, this highlight that there is a knowledge bridge of best practices amidst the Traditional birth attendants who serve most of those in the rural populace, coupled with this is the disadvantage that arises from lack of resources in form of delivery kits, delivery aids, referral system, social amenities  and so on that could have aid the work of the TBAs. Addressing these issues by engaging, educating and empowering TBAs actively can go a long way towards creating hope for Mothers and their Babies health.

The initiative is committed to making available basic maternal and child health services in underserved communities and Ensuring every pregnancy undergoes a safe delivery devoid of common complications through training, education and empowerment of  these frontline rural healthcare providers. The TBAs will be engaged in training and capacity building on practices and skills cover areas such as identifying high risk pregnancies, Obstetrics emergencies, Birth preparedness, Birth complications, assisted vaginal delivery, Referral systems, HIVAIDS, Family planning and so on. The workshops will involve the use of mannequins, learning aids, educational videos  that are easy to understand for the TBAs.

Furthermore, each of the traditional birth attendants will be empowered and provided with sterile birthing kits which aids hygienic delivery and post-delivery processes. There would be creation of an emergency support line and an easy to use mobile application  that can help to provide answers to questions. The application will be in different local languages and thus provide means of easy usage to Mothers.

The solution would help in provision of basic maternal and child health services in rural communities  as well as Production of highly skilled Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) with immense knowledge on safe delivery  processes using technologically advanced means which will culminate in the Reduction of current maternal mortality and child mortality  rate globally in which Nigeria is a major contributor.

The initiative  is innovative and employs creative thinking as it  does not only help to Educate healthcare providers in the rural communities on actions during childbirth, it also provides major aspect of maternal and child health services in these communities through the traditional birth attendants. Hence, ensuring availability of this service in communities currently without adequate access. Furthermore, the initiative provides sterile birthing kits which helps in achieving hygienic birthing practices  in these communities. Most previous engagements with traditional birth attendants have often focused on knowledge only with little or no practical training and empowerment for the birthing attendants.

The initiative has identified technology as an important aspect  in ensuring a positive impact. Hence, the initiative would be making use of mobile SMS(small messaging service) system to provide pregnant women registered with the birthing attendants information on antennal and postnatal care. Furthermore, a simplified mobile application would be made available  in English and local languages which would provide information that would mediate good pregnancy outcomes.

The goal of the initiative  is to bring about an obvious decline in maternal and child complications and deaths associated with deliveries by the attendants in these communities  by 35 percent in 12months using innovative intervention focusing on TBAs and engaging them in technologically inclined and sustainable practices.

The initiative envisions an increase in the number of skilled birth attendants available during delivery  and expects an obvious decline in maternal and child complications and deaths associated with deliveries by the attendants in these communities  by 60 percent in 36months . Furthermore , the initiative plans to grow to the other parts of Nigeria to reach more frontline healthcare workers and through them make available basic maternal and child health services available to residents in rural communities  they currently serve.

By working with the already established association of these birthing attendants through their executives informing them about the benefit of standard practices  during delivery. Furthermore, our partnership with the state government`s ministry of health would help to initiate periodical re-training of the attendants and provision of the required certification which would help to retain the beneficiaries.

The initiative  has coordinated its pilot project amongst 42 TBA's resident in underserved communities in southwest, Nigeria.They have been trained and empowered with sterile birthing kits which  now aids them to conduct hygienic deliveries. The TBA's trained and empowered in the pilot project of the initiative have coordinated successful , safe  and hygienic deliveries in over 700 pregnant women. The first phase of the project is currently ongoing targeted to reach a total of 162 TBA's in different rural communities in Southwest, Nigeria. This will further increase the impact to reach about 5000 women who patronize the birth attendants.

We plan to serve 162 traditional birth attendants within  a 12 months period educating them on actions that mediates good pregnancy outcomes through multiple  practical training and capacity building for each of the selected TBA, empowering them with sterile birthing kits and other important instruments required to make available ease of service that would be safe and beneficial . Also, providing them with access to improve their services through usage of cheap technology. In 3 years , we plan to have reached out to 500 TBAs creating maximal impact which would further significantly improve the maternal health indices in Nigeria.

The strategic team members are majorly medical doctors who have the required clinical knowledge and experience to initiate and transfer indicative health information`s. Also, myself and the strategy team have the acquired the necessary leadership and management skills and the ability to plan, organize and prioritize work to achieve maximal impact for an initiative like this. Our  communication skills further allows us to reachout and communicate well with necessary stakeholders and organizations with similar objectives to access resources which is evident with our current partnerships.

The initiative is a non-for profit venture and aims to create partnerships with organization and ventures with similar objectives to make maximal impact. By working with its already established partnerships and creating partnerships, Also, Identifying NGO`s that align with its goals and working closely with them to access possible funding and Resources donation.

As a youth health advocate , I constantly avail myself  to targeted actions that would help to improve my approach in several ways in-order to effectively serve as an innovative and socially responsible leader which is my major motivation for applying . SOLVE , with its pedigree has proved  to help social entrepreneurs like myself achieve maximal impact through several of the services it renders. l would love to work with SOLVE to help in creating new analysis and strategies that will further ensure impact amongst mothers and children.

Current identified barriers for the initiative includes lack of funding  and resources. Also, the birthing attendants are afraid of government regulation of their current services.

Solve can help to connect me with transnational networks of  similar innovative peers around the world and facilitate idea exchange to strengthen my current social actions. Solve can help to provide for me standard mentorship and help to create an impactful technology to be used by mothers in a low resource country like Nigeria.

Furthermore, Solve can help to provide for my initiative access to funding and  resources required for me to scale my initiative