EMwA trained 205 healthcare professionals to deal with humanitarian disasters

Addis Ababa Dec 08, 2022; In the last three months, the Ethiopian Midwives Association provided SRH training to 205 frontline healthcare providers from Benishagul Gumuz (Metekel Zone) and the Amhara region (West Gojam and Awi Zones) on the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP), Clinical Management of Rape Survivors (CMRS), Psychosocial Support (PSS), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Post-Abortion Care (PAC) with funding from UNFPA.

Humanitarian crises raise the chance of acquiring mental diseases such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol and substance misuse, all of which impair a person’s capacity to care for themselves and others who rely on them. To offer psychosocial support (PSS) at the community, IDP, and health facility levels, EMwA trained 59 health care practitioners from the Benisangul Gumuz and Amhara regions.

To improve the capacity of health facilities and the coordination skills of sexual and reproductive health coordinators, SRH focal persons, and service providers, the Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara regions received Minimum Initial Service Package for Reproductive Health (MISP) training in two rounds for 46 humanitarian actors (SRH coordinators, SRH focal persons, and service providers).

One of the goals of minimal first service packages for SRH in a crisis environment is to prevent gender-based violence and respond to the needs of survivors. Capacity-building for health-care personnel to effectively prevent and manage survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault is a critical humanitarian endeavor. From the two areas, 47 healthcare practitioners were taught on CMRS and 26 on GBV.

Abortion access is a critical component of women’s health care. Abortion care must be made available by a sufficient number of skilled healthcare practitioners. With UNFPA assistance, EMwA offered post-abortion care to 27 healthcare practitioners in order to improve their skills and availability.