More than 30 Ghanaian midwives completed training March 5 aboard High Speed Vessel Swift following an intensive two-day course from Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere), a private voluntary organization partnering with Africa Partnership Station (APS).



The volunteer HOPE instructors provided training in healthcare techniques and skills to help decrease maternal and neonatal mortality rates.



In a portable classroom aboard Swift installed prior to APS to facilitate training events, Ghanaian midwives reviewed procedures for delivering babies in a variety of circumstances, ranging from natural birth to the most difficult of complications for both mothers and babies, including breached birth and newborn resuscitation.



"The curriculum for this course covers normal/abnormal labor, hypertension in pregnancy, postpartum hemorrhaging treatment and newborn resuscitation," said Susan Hoffman, a certified Nurse-Midwife who is volunteering for Project HOPE. "We are not teaching, we're sharing. We are sharing our experiences with them, and they're sharing their experiences with us."



"This training is very, very effective," said Elizabeth Wilson, the Principal Nursing Officer (Education) of the Central Region Resource Training Team for Safe Motherhood in Ghana, who received the two-day training. Wilson will apply the training in her current position as a midwife as well as retrain midwives as an educator in Ghana. "When teaching, I recap what my students already know and then apply new skills. You have added new knowledge onto old knowledge we already knew."



When asked about what was the most effective part of the training, Wilson said, "I was impressed with the education of preventing hemorrhages in the uterus after cutting the placenta by performing a cotton swab." Wilson continued to explain this as one of many examples of why women possibly die while giving birth and how this training contributes to saving many more lives of mothers and their babies in the future.



Commander Charles Rock, commanding officer of the Swift's blue crew, handed out the certificates of completion to each student and addressed the class on behalf of APS, the Swift and the Navy, thanking them for the job they do. "Of all the training I have witnessed on board Swift, this is the most motivated, enthusiastic, spirited group I've ever seen," he said.



Project HOPE volunteers are in the midst of a two-week collaboration with APS in Ghana, where volunteers will team with APS medical professionals to provide outreach and health education in the greater Accra area.



Africa Partnership Station is a U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa-led initiative, executed by a multinational staff aboard Swift and amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry to promote maritime safety and security. During its deployment, Swift will work with various government and non-government organizations to support ongoing regional meteorological and oceanography initiatives, host fisheries training events, and deliver humanitarian aid to African nations.



Overseen by a joint staff representing navies of eight European, African and North American countries, APS ships are visiting ports in Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome & Principe, Togo and other African countries to conduct training, complete humanitarian projects and build partnerships among participating nations.