(Proposed Project)

Nigeria experiences among the highest maternal and newborn mortality globally, with the North Central Zone (Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory) particularly affected. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for Nigeria is 993-1047 deaths /100,000 live births, while North Central zone has a rate of 1118; globally, 28% of all maternal deaths occur in Nigeria. Barriers such as workforce shortages, limited infrastructure, social attitudes, and restricted access to quality maternal and newborn care contribute to this toll. The Lancet Series (Renfrew et al) shows that investing in well-trained midwives can prevent 80% of maternal and newborn deaths in low-resource settings. This project addresses the urgent need for scalable solutions to enhance midwifery education and workforce capacity.
Thus the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) will launch a three-year initiative to deliver digital midwifery education to Year 3 students at eight institutions across North Central Zone, utilizing the FIRST-for-Midwives curriculum, which was proven in a RCT to be as effective as traditional training in building essential knowledge, clinical skills, and competence, but is more efficient and productive than standard training. The initiative aims to modernize midwifery education, improve workforce capacity, and reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
The project will be implemented in partnership with leadership from eight midwifery institutions, combining digital learning with hands-on clinical practice.

Objectives:⁠

1. ⁠Expand Access to Quality Midwifery Education: Deliver standardized midwifery education through digital platforms, reaching a broad student audience throughout North Central Zone.
2. Build Essential Competencies: Focus on equipping students with the needed skills in risk assessment, surgical techniques, basic obstetrics, respectful care, recognizing birth abnormalities, and effective CMDS app use and train instructors to teach these vital competencies confidently.
3. Overcome Educational Barriers: Leverage digital learning solutions and an affordable, all-in-one maternity trainer, to address faculty shortages, geographic limitations, access to quality training for more learners.
4. Develop Future Midwives to Save Lives: This project supports the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 3.1, which aims to reduce the MMR to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. We will achieve this through the adoption of the CMDS App, ensuring that all faculty, both academic and clinical, as well as students have access and actively use the app.
5. Monitor and Evaluate Progress: Track workshop attendance, participant numbers and gender, and assess learning outcomes through modular evaluations, pre- and post-course tests, and OSCEs. Feedback from both instructors and students will be gathered via digital surveys for continuous improvement.
6. ⁠Ensure Sustainability To keep the momentum going, we will provide ongoing access to the FIRST for Midwives platform, maintain reliable Wi-Fi connectivity, and ensure the all-in-one obstetrics trainer remains fully functional and available.