Project Summary
As part of the PRRINN-MNCH project to improve healthcare for women and children in Northern Nigeria, Transaid has been implementing an emergency transport system for pregnant women. This emergency transport scheme project is operating in the states of Yobe, Katsina and Zamfara, and is being executed in conjunction with the PRRINN-MNCH Community Engagement Team.
The project focuses on training and encouraging local taxi drivers to transport pregnant women to health centres and is being conducted with members of the National Union of Transport Workers (NURTW). It aims to improve the availability of emergency transport so women can access healthcare they would not otherwise reach in a timely manner and when they are most in need. The project has already been established in Jigawa state where public private partnerships were shown to be very successful in areas where limited transport resources were available. You can read more about Transaid’s involvement in the original project here.
The Problem
In Northern Nigeria there is a huge lack of resource and capacity to run emergency transport services. Delays in the transfer of maternal cases and subsequent referral often result in women losing their lives during childbirth. There is huge concern for the high levels of illness and death amongst mothers and children where the rates of maternal, newborn and child mortality are some of the highest in the world. The latest World Health Organisation Statistics Report 2009 states the Maternal Mortality Rate in Nigeria is 1,100 deaths per 100,000 live births, in comparison to only 8 deaths per 100,000 live births in the UK. As part of the fight to reduce this unnecessary death and suffering, the PRRINN-MNCH Programme has been helping to improve health services in Yobe, Katsina and Zamfara states.
The Process
Transaid was requested to support the training of 15 drivers as trainers for the Emergency Transport System (ETS). Following this the ETS trained drivers (all from the NURTW) delivered a training course to other union drivers selected from rural communities across the three states.
The ‘Train the trainer’ course covered:
• the difficulties faced by women in accessing transportation during a maternal emergency and other difficulties at the household, community and health facility level that contribute to deaths of women experiencing pregnancy related complications
• the benefits of volunteering and helping to save lives
• the six danger signs in pregnancy and the five delivery danger signs
• how to lift and handle a pregnant woman experiencing a maternal complication
• how to record ETS cases correctly and report to the NURTW local representative
• how to ensure that vehicles are readily available and in working condition for emergencies
• how to agree on basic costs for transportation during a maternal emergency
The tasks for Transaid were:
• to monitor and contribute to the daily training
• to develop and execute an implementation plan for ETS
• to design a monitoring system and agree on monitoring roles for all stakeholders
• to provide data collection tools and stationary
Transaid worked alongside the PRRINN-MNCH National transport Consultant, Alhaji Balogun, and Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed – State Secretary of the NURTW in Kano who was also involved in the original Jigawa State ETS project.
Specific topics were also delivered by the Nigerian Red Cross Society who served as facilitators.
Partners
The PRRINN/MNCH Consortium led by Health Partners International, Save the Children and Grid Consulting. The combined PRRINN-MNCH programme is funded by DfID and the Norwegian Government.
Local partners including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), The State Ministry of Health in Yobe, Katsina and Zamfara States and the Nigerian Red Cross.
The Results
The project has built the capacity of local drivers in the community to support the scheme and to explain and role out the project to other NURTW drivers. As a result so far:
• 15 ETS trainers have been trained
• In total 188 ETS drivers were trained from 47 communities across the three states.
• Monthly reports have already started to be produced detailing the number of women transferred via the ETS scheme.
• A Hausa translation of the ETS manual hasbeen produced and disseminated to the driver trainers.
The Impact
This essential training will ensure that a transport system is in place at the community level for the timely transfer of maternal and new born emergency cases, enabling women to get from the household to the nearest health facility. As more drivers become trained so the availability of emergency transport will increase, ensuring that mothers and babies who risk experiencing serious complications in childbirth have access to professional healthcare and life-saving treatment.
Read about how Transaid member company Bandvulc and the T-Shirt printers have supported this project here.
See also:
• Nigeria, Training of Ambulance Driver Trainers, Yobe State, PRRINN-MNCH Update, August 2009
• Nigeria, Training of Transport and Health Officers, Zamfara State, PRRINN Update - May, 2009
• Nigeria, Jigawa State, Safe Motherhood Emergency Transport Scheme, 2005-2006
• Nigeria, Increasing access to healthcare for mothers and children, PRRINN - MNCH Update – April 2009
• Nigeria, Programme for Reviving Routine Immunisation in Four Northern States, 2007-2011
