Dr Susan Wandera, the Head of Programmes at the AMREF Uganda country office, visited Katine recently and spoke to people in the community, including Josephine Achen. Sister Josephine, as she is known, is 60 years old and was featured in the original Guardian Katine supplement. She was born in Ochuloi village in Katine sub-county and became a traditional birth attendant (TBA) after she delivered her own baby at home by herself. She is highly respected in the community and supports and trains many other TBAs in Katine.
“Yoga [Hello]”, she says excitedly, as she extends her hand. “You should have told me you were coming, I would have dressed up!” Josephine is proud of her work and clearly has a newfound confidence in her skills and experience. Skilled and motivated midwives are a vital health resource in Uganda, where the maternal mortality rate is very high and more than 1 in 10 children die before their fifth birthday. So far this month Josephine has delivered two babies and referred three mothers to the health centre for specialist pre-natal care.
Providing skills to the community
AMREF recently ran a week long training course for TBAs in Katine. Out of the 26 known TBAs in Katine, AMREF has now trained 19 of them. Josephine participated in this course and when she talks about it, it is clear that she has enjoyed the experience. “This is the only training I have had in 11 years, I learned so much! We were trained on hygiene practices; pregnancy danger signs and when to refer a mother to a health centre; how to use local resources to deliver babies and then how to keep records. We were treated with respect and were even given breakfast, lunch and free accommodation.”
The AMREF training also provides information on how pregnant women can protect themselves from diseases like malaria and encourage their husbands to support them better, as Josephine explains: “I now always advise mothers to get mosquito nets for themselves during pregnancy and for their babies after delivery, I tell them to ask their husbands to get them. I also insist on proper sanitation. AMREF has also brought water closer to us; this means that the deliveries take place in a clean environment”.
The impact of the Katine project
As well as receiving training from AMREF, Josephine explains that her village has been visited by village health teams, who have been teaching them on the importance of good hygiene and proper sanitation in and around the home. A borehole has been drilled nearby and Josephine describes how “less people seem to be getting ill with diseases”. When asked what she would like to say to AMREF and all the people who have donated to the project, she responds: “Tell them”, and here she speaks excitedly in English, “Sister Josephine is greeting you all, thank you!”
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