Bilma Foundation is going to help with the training of midwives in remote areas of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR). In the densely populated northern and eastern parts of the SNNPR a sufficient number of midwives are trained and active. But in the southern and western, remote and scarcely populated areas, a too low number of trained midwives are active to check pregnant women and to help them with delivery.

Bilma Foundation will financially support the training of young women in the remote areas to become a midwife with training at a Health Science College (at Diploma level). The candidates must have finalized 10th grade before application. For the implementation of this project a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the SNNP Regional State Health Bureau. According the project plan a yearly number of six candidates from the remote areas will be trained in three years. Bilma Foundation and her partner Stichting Adopteer een vroedvrouw will provide the financial means. When the project turns out to be successful, the yearly number of candidates will be upgraded.

In the month May 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed, which turns a belonging project plan into effect. In this project plan it is stated that the midwives will work a mandatory period of three years in the area from where they originated. After resigning from this area the Regional Health Bureau is held to look for replacement of the midwife.
 

Since October 2012 Bilma Foundation started to cooperate with the Dutch Foundation ‘Adopt a midwife’. This foundation started already in the year 2009 to train midwives at St.Luke’s hospital in Wolliso, Ethiopia. Our joined target is to train young girls from remote areas to become a midwife and to help reduce the high maternal mortality in these areas.

The aim of the cooperation is to enhance the help in health care for pregnant women in the South of Ethiopia. The idea is to train each time two young girls from another remote area, who are bound to work in the area. Health care for pregnant women in these areas is only available at far distance.

The project is twofold:
1.     training of young girls to become a midwife
2.     providing of maternal care in a facility in these areas (a building and equipment)

The start of the first location from where the girls will be selected to be trained is the Mursi area. Unknown yet is the exact location of the training facility (Arba Minch or Hawassa Health College). The training will be under auspices of the SNNPR Regional Health Bureau.

Time frame of the projects:
Project 1     Training of two young Mursi women to become a midwife          2013 - 2015
Project 2     Establishment of a facility for the trained midwifes in the area     2014 - 2015