Ninety-nine percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. In countries like Nigeria, we help reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality by improving the skills and enhancing the knowledge of healthcare professionals working with mothers and babies, while supplying life-saving materials that are otherwise impossible to find. We train in-country healthcare professionals in accredited resuscitation courses, such as Pediatric Advanced Life Support, the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, and Helping Babies Breathe, as well as skills-based training in midwifery, nursing, and community health.

Helping Babies Breathe in Rivers State, Nigeria

Teach: Because African midwives and traditional birth attendants can’t rely on electricity, we train local teams through “Helping Babies Breathe,” a neonatal resuscitation curriculum for resource-limited circumstances, developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The curriculum pays special attention to the low-tech, highly effective interventions available to birth attendants during the Golden Minute.

Collaborate:  To implement the training in Nigeria, we work closely with a local nonprofit, the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), which helps the people of Rivers State achieve their goal of self-reliance and better health.

Sustain: The curriculum includes a lifelike simulator, NeoNatalie. The doll can be filled with air or water, replicating the weight and tone of a newborn, all without the use of electricity or batteries. For Rivers State, we mobilized simulators to complement the hands-on training.