The Atlas Cultural Foundation helps under served Moroccans improve their quality of life. ACF is a project of Adirondack Sustainable Communities, Inc. a registered 501(c)3 organization with EIN # 20-2015699. All donations are tax deductible.

COMMUNITY HEALTH & MIDWIFE TRAINING PROGRAM

In partnership with the Iqra Fund, ACF started the Community Health and Midwife Training Program in Zawiya Ahansal. ACF and the Iqra Fund are working with the Moroccan Ministry of Health and the local association Amezray SMNID to develop and implement this program.   The program is training 12 women, three women from each of the following villages: Amezray, Aguddim, Taghia and Tighanimin. The identified women already have experience serving as traditional birth attendants, though they do not have any formal training.  Additionally, the local government nurses and midwives will participate in the trainings to help foster a relationship with the local villages.

The next training is scheduled for May of 2012 and will involve five multi-day workshops in the region’s main villages.  The workshops will focus on basic sanitation, hygiene and nutrition.  Additionally, infant and maternal mortality data will be collected during these trainings along with traditional birth stories and methods.  This research will help ACF and Iqra develop the program in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner.

Zawiya Ahansal currently has one government operated health clinic in the village of Aguddim. The clinic was established in 2009 and is staffed by two midwives and one nurse. Despite the existence of the clinic and new and improved access to health care, greater than 90% of women in the area are still giving birth at home without a skilled birth attendant.  In 2010 the clinic performed only one birth. The most basic reason for lack of use is the remote location of the villages and severe weather that inhibits transportation to the public clinic or hospital in Azilal (80 kilometers away on a gravel road). Another significant reason is that the government-appointed nurses and midwives often do not speak the local language, creating communication barriers. By training local women to provide basic health care and basic midwifery services to their own communities, the percent of births attended by a skilled birth attendant will dramatically increase.  We also hope to markedly increase the percent of births that occur in the clinic and at the hospital in Azilal through education regarding the dangers of home births. By involving the government’s nurses and midwives in the trainings, we hope to establish a relationship between the locals and the clinic and diminish their reluctance to use the government services.

The training is focusing on:

1. Sanitation and Hygiene
2. Nutrition
3. Childbirth
4. Care of Newborn Babies
5. Identification and treatment of basic medical problems, especially infections

The main goals of the Community Health and Midwife Training Program are to:

1. Increase utilization of the Zawiya Ahansal clinic and Azilal hospital for births and medical care by 100%.
2. Decrease infectious diarrhea through increased toilet use and water sanitation.
3. Provide education and supplies for hygienic home births if transportation to the local clinic or Azilal hospital is not possible.
4. Improve nutrition for pregnant women and children.
5. Reduce maternal and infant (0-12 months of age) mortality by 50%.
6. Educate women regarding newborn care and identifying sick newborns who need medical treatment.