Six Tanzanian midwives participated in a three-week study tour of Western Australia’s world-class health system recently, thanks to the Department of Health’s Global Health Alliance of WA (GHAWA) and Rotary International.
The tour marked the culmination of GHAWA’s six-year program in maternal and newborn health delivered by expert volunteer midwives in Dar es salaam, Tanzania.
The aim of the study tour was to support knowledge advancement, specifically in maternal and neonatal care, and to embed a sustainable program in maternal and neonatal care in Tanzania through a ‘training-the-trainer’ initiative.
The Tanzanian midwives visited maternal and neonatal facilities including King Edward Memorial Hospital, Armadale Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Bunbury Regional Hospital and Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital to observe the provision of women-centred care based on current evidence-based practice.
They also visited Curtin University and Edith Cowan University to learn how midwifery education is delivered in Western Australia and to participate in a number of obstetric and neonatal simulations and scenarios.
The tour finished with two full days of management and leadership and train-the-trainer education.