Workshop on Obstetric Violence in Pemba
The Alliance for Health, with the support of medicusmundi, within the scope of Agreement 22-CO1-398 “Improving the Quality, Coverage and Resilience of the Health System in Cabo Delgado”, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and the Citizen Observatory for Health and Saber Nascer organizations, held the Workshop on Obstetric Violence at the Health Training Centre of Pemba.
32 trainees, the Director of the ESMI course and the Centre’s Administration, represented in this event by its Pedagogical Director, were present at the workshop. Representatives from several Civil Society organizations based in Pemba were also present.
The Workshop was led by the Executive Director of Saber Nascer Association, Camila Fanheiro, in partnership with the Alliance for Health, and the organizational support from medicusmundi. This training was intended to provide graduates with knowledge, so that when they finish their courses and are working in health facilities, they are aware of not carrying out acts that undermine the integrity and rights of users, in particular, pregnant women. In other words, with this workshop, students saw some teaching subjects on ethics and professional deontology reinforced.
In addition to the topic of obstetric violence, the presence of the representative of the Citizen Observatory for Health (OCS), António Mathe, was taken advantage of to introduce and debate topics related to the exercise of the right to health.
Given the relevance of the themes and content covered in the workshop, students from the Health Training Centre of Pemba committed to replicating the knowledge acquired to students from other classes and courses that were not part of this event, as well as to other health professionals at their internship sites.
It is worth highlighting the testimony brought by a student from the SMI class, who reported having experienced unpleasant situations of poor care at a health centre in the province of Nampula, precisely when she was in the process of giving birth. At that time, due to a lack of knowledge about her rights, she did not complain about the poor service. However, after this training, the student stated that she felt properly qualified and had enough knowledge to demand her rights, in case she again goes through situations that violate her rights as a user of the National Health System.
At the end of the workshop, the Pedagogical Director of the Health Training Centre of Pemba thanked medicusmundi for the initiative of supporting this event at the training institution, as well as for financing the maternal and child health course.