Nicola Zewga: “We have their lives in our hands every day”

Health & research

Apr 11

Who: Maternity Foundation

What: Combination of Training and Safe Delivery App

Nicola Zewga is a midwife in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp in Western Ethiopia, which is currently hosting about 75,000 South Sudanese refugees.

Nicola and his colleagues in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp have been trained by Maternity Foundation on basic emergency obstetrics and neo-natal care (BEmONC), and the Safe Delivery App is an integral part of their everyday work in the clinic, where they have up to 35 deliveries per week.

“I use the app every day. I use it directly in my work, and when I am not busy I use it to check up on procedures and actions. Our work is risky – we have the lives of mothers and their babies in our hands every day. The Safe Delivery App makes it easier for us to manage.

It’s very helpful. The Safe Delivery App is like a bible for midwives. We always have it right in our pockets. I think all midwives should use it”, Nicola said when we visited him during a break at the clinic.

Maternity Foundation’s work in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp is part of our focus on maternal and newborn health in humanitarian and emergency settings in collaboration with PlanBørnefonden.

Combination of Training and Safe Delivery App

Nicola and his colleagues in Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp have been trained by Maternity Foundation on basic emergency obstetrics and neo-natal care with Maternity Foundation’s digital tool, the Safe Delivery App as a key component in the training.

Since Nicola Zewga was introduced to the Safe Delivery App, it has become a constant source of support. Nicola remembers a specific case, where both the training he received as well as the Safe Delivery App helped him to safely manage a complicated delivery.

“Six months ago, a woman came very early in the morning, she was in labor. Often, they try to give birth at home with a traditional birth helper first, and if it doesn’t go well, they come here. When she came, she had a breach presentation, meaning that the baby was coming out with his bottom first. It’s a very complicated delivery, and it had been 3 or 4 years since I had last done one of them.

Because of the Safe Delivery App and the BEmONC training from Maternity Foundation, I knew what to do. I performed the delivery, and the mother and the baby were both fine.”

For Nicola and his colleagues, ensuring that the refugee women feel safe and cared for at the clinic is crucial.

“For most of the refugee women, coming here is their first time to ever come to health center. Even if this is not their first baby. They do not have a history of institutionalised deliveries. That means I need to be very vigilant in my work. If it doesn’t go well, if she doesn’t feel comfortable, I will risk that she won’t come back. And then other women might not come either. It is very important for the health of the women and their babies that they come here to give birth”, Nicola explains.

In addition to training, Maternity Foundation and PlanBørnefonden are providing hygiene items and dignity kits for new mothers with soap, sanitary pads and other essential items, as well as medical equipment for the health facilities.

Nicola Zewga: “We have their lives in our hands every day”

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