South-to-north learning exchanges enhance midwives’ skills in abortion care
Showing the power of global partnerships and collaboration, midwives from Rwanda shared their skills and knowledge of comprehensive abortion care as part of a new south-to-north learning approach initiated by the UN Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP) at an event organised by the International Confederation of Midwives in Berlin.
Comprehensive abortion care helps women make informed reproductive health decisions, while ensuring safe access to relevant medical and surgical procedures and quality aftercare. Given the leading role of midwives in supporting women’s health, strengthening their skills in this area is a critical step toward increasing access to safe abortion and improving health outcomes worldwide.
The two-day workshop engaged around 40 participants from 14 countries. During the event, two Rwandan midwives, Philomene Niragire and Seraphine Nyiraneza, focused on building skills in providing quality care for induced abortion and miscarriage, as well as for women and adolescent girls who experience complications after undergoing unsafe procedures.
“Sharing the skills that I have acquired during my 14 years as a midwife with colleagues from across the globe was truly an uplifting experience for me. I have a boost of motivation to continue learning on the topic as well as sharing my knowledge with other colleagues,” said Niragire.
In Rwanda, comprehensive abortion care training is an important part of the existing midwifery education programme. In-service trainings exist through national programmes as well as collaboration with other countries such as Ethiopia. However, this is not always the case in Europe, where the subject is often not included within midwives’ scope of practice and training opportunities may be limited.
Photo: ICM