A Series of CMEs on Ultrasound

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The Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) in collaboration with Mindray have conducted a series of CME courses on ultrasound on August 29, 2021. The online session was attended by dozens of Ob-Gyns, and health care professionals.

The CME session addressed The Role of Ultrasound in Gynecological Surgery and Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS), among other topics. Dr. Jin Huang, Dr. Abdulfetah Abdulkadir, and Dr. Fikre Geremew were among the speakers at the session.

Founded in 1991, Mindray is one of the global providers of medical devices and solutions. ESOG and Mindray have collaborated on so many other CMEs for members and health care providers.

Created: 30 August 2021

Clean CS Project Data Collection Training Conducted

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Virtual training for data collectors has been underway beginning July 19, 2021, for two weeks to end on July 30, 2021. Attending the training were about 50 participants from 10 hospitals from four regions of the country.

The data collection will be conducted for a research project being implemented by the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) in collaboration with Lifebox. The data collection involves three phases: intraoperative, in-ward or in-patient, and post-operation follow-up data collection.

The data collection aims at identifying the causes of surgical site infection during and after surgery. The collected data then will be encoded into the latest open source software currently in use by the Ministry of Health. The findings of the research are then expected to be used as a baseline for an intervention to curb infection in these institutions.

Created: 29 July 2021

Fighting Stigma against Providers

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The above picture was randomly selected from Google by one of the participants at the Providers Share Workshop conducted in Adama from July 9 to 11, 2021. The picture was selected by the participant in response to an activity challenge posed by Dr. Tesfaye Hurisa, one of the trainers on the workshop. Dr. Tesfaye challenged the participants to google a random picture in a couple of minutes that they would think show best how they feel about safe abortion care.

Shown in the picture are individuals in a circle and one person falling out of the circle while another in the earlier group lending hand to bring him back into the group. The participant explained the picture as one that shows how safe abortion care providers go out of the traditional norm to provide the service, and how they should be given a supporting hand for the lives they are saving which would have been lost otherwise. Other pictures selected by participants to represent how they feel about the service they are providing were quite remarkable.

Traditional and religious values influencing the practice of safe abortion care are typical to most places in Ethiopia despite the relatively safer legal support the country provides to the service. Health care workers who provide the service are stigmatized both by the community they are serving and their colleagues.

“Whether we provide the service only impacts how safe the abortion is; it does not affect the prevalence of the practice in any way,” Dr. Ferid Abas, Dr. Tesfaye Hurisa, and Dr. Lemi Belay strongly argue during the workshop.

The aim of the workshop was to create a safe environment and platform for the health care providers to share experiences free of judgment and stigma they face in their daily engagements. The participants shared a lot indeed. The workshop also involved a roleplay wherein participants played an imaginary story of woman who seeks the service and a health care worker who refuses to provide the service and fails to provide the appropriate counseling service.

The workshop was organized by the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) under its project- Strengthening Capacity and Improving Quality of Reproductive Health (Family Planning (FP) and Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC)) and Reducing Stigma on Abortion Care Service Providers. The overall objective of the project is to improve the quality of FP and CAC in the primary health care units to increase service uptake and support the Ministry of Health (MoH) in developing effective de-stigmatization strategies for safe abortion care among health care workers. To achieve this end, the project aims at institutionalizing FP and CAC and newborn health mentorship programs at primary hospitals and health centers through producing Emergency Surgical Officers (ESOs). Strengthening the quality improvement programs in FP, CAC, maternal and child health at primary hospitals and health centers, and reducing stigma and discrimination against abortion care providers are also the objectives of the project.

Funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and partnering with MoH, regional health bureaus, woreda health offices, hospitals, and health centers, the project will run until July 31, 2021.  

Created: 13 July 2021

Treatment, Rehabilitation of GBV Survivors

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The Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) has conducted health response training to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Mekelle, Tigray Regional State from May 17-20, 2021. The training, which was provided under a new project launched in collaboration with the Center for International Reproductive Health Training (CIRHT), was attended by 31 health care professionals: gynecologists, general practitioners, nurses, and social workers from Axum, Shire, Adigrat, Maychew, Mekelle General Hospital, and Ayder Hospital.

The project aims at establishing a one-stop center for the treatment of GBV survivors in five towns: Axum, Shire, Adwa, Adigrat, and Maychew. The project will be mobilizing resources necessary for a full and effective operation of the centers and building the capacity of health care professionals that provide health services to GBV survivors.

The project also has distributed Dignity Kits: bags full of clothes, sanitary tools, food items, and other necessities for GBV survivors. Non-health response training for non-health response professionals in law enforcement, the justice system, and other areas beyond the health sector, is also planned to be conducted in the near future.   

The project is funded by CIRHT and implemented in collaboration with the Tigray Regional Health Bureau. ESOG's experience in establishing six model clinics will be put to use towards the success of the project.

Created: 09 June 2021