Ethiopia successfully implemented the 50,000 Happy Birthdays Project that contributes to improving maternal and new born health thus saving lives at birth.
The project which was implemented for three years contributed substantially to quality maternity by strengthening midwives’ competencies. Ultimately, this project enabled midwives to save thousands of mothers and their children.
According to Techawet Zeleke, midwife and coordinator of the project, majority of maternal deaths are due to the difficulties during pregnancy and giving birth.
The 50,000 happy birth day projects aims to save the lives of thousands of mothers and newborn children in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania and was initiated in 2017 through 2020.hgh
As Techawet explained, the project currently has been implemented in four regions namely; Oromia, Tigray, Amhara and SNNP and in the capital Addis Ababa as well 100 hospitals and 30 health care institutions.
Through this implementation more than 3037 midwives and health care providers have been trained to improve management of birth.
In the three countries, more than 18,500 midwives and other health care providers have been trained to improve management of birth asphyxia, newborn prematurity, post-partum hemorrhage, and Eclampsia. Across the project implementation sites, internal project data indicated a 26% reduction in stillbirth rates in Ethiopia, a 57% reduction in newborn deaths in Rwanda, and a 33% reduction in maternal deaths in Tanzania.
Approximately two thirds of the global maternal death is accounted in Africa, and in sub Saharan Africa newborns are 10 times more likely to die in their first month compared to a child born in other parts of the globe.
The 50,000 Happy Birthdays project addressed in-service health providers, aligning the knowledge and skills of students with experienced clinicians, ultimately decreasing the disparity between theory and practice.
Through the project, life-like maternal and newborn mannequins were provided to universities and colleges, allowing students to practice and feel confident performing simulated obstetric emergency skills prior to entering a health facility and caring for patients.
Through the 50,000 Happy Birthdays project, we’ve managed to increase the number of competent in-service midwives significantly in all three countries. In Ethiopia alone, the project has trained 12,000 midwives and other health care professionals to effectively manage the most frequent complications that arise during birth. But much more needs to be done to ensure young people in under resourced countries and around the world are pursuing a career in midwifery.
The 50,000 HBD project contributed to the ministry of health’s improvement in the project implementation facilities. As the end line evaluations indicated Facility-based maternal deaths reduced from 0.12% to o.10% Stillbirths reduced from 4.2% to 3.1% Newborn deaths decreased from 2.02% to 1.75%.