Graduate midwives in ‘clinical’ internship: A total of 163 midwives (100% students of the batch) who started community segment of their internship in July are duly placed in clinical facilities in October. BRAC Maternity Centres (BMCs), and the safe delivery and maternity units of Marie Stopes Bangladesh, LAMB and GBC are where the graduate midwives are placed for three months. Ten Family Welfare Centres of the Government are hosting internship of 10 graduate midwives. Sometimes assisting the existing health professionals and sometimes being assisted by them, our graduates performed NVD and are meeting ‘family planning’ targets while building community’s trust in midwives. In picture is Midwife Lucky Ara tending to the new-born (and mother) immediately after performing successful NVD.
DMP building capacity of partners and stakeholders: In the Partners Coordination Committee (PCC) meeting that was attended by management and faculty representatives from all of the seven midwifery academic sites, DMP hub team led the discussion on a number of pressing and priority issues. The PCC platform has proven to be effective in finding best possible solutions reached through a participatory means, and thus building capacity of partner organisations. In a bid to extend this practice of shared learning and position midwifery across the private sector, DMP also organised the first ever meeting of the institutions that are implementing midwifery education programme. Out of 16 such institutions, DMP represented 7 and discussed collaborative efforts with 9 visiting institutes.
Midwives for the displaced population in Ukhiya: DMP’s midwifery students and graduate midwives have been extending ANC and PNC support to the local and displaced population in Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar. This has helped them to meet clinical targets set in the midwifery curriculum. Besides, 38 licensed midwives have been recruited by several national and international humanitarian organisations addressing the health crisis of the refugees in Ukhiya and Teknaf. To widen the maternal and neonatal support, DMP has decided to launch a midwife-led health centre next to the refugee camp in Ukhiya. DMP Advisor Dr. Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, DMP Director Dr. Selina Amin and other members of the DMP and BRAC teams visited the proposed sites and are working with strategic partners for an effective implementation of the plan.