Promoting Maternal Health and Preventing Obstetric Fistula: A Training Curriculum for Village Health Teams in Uganda

This training manual was produced to help build the capacity of village health teams (VHTs) in Uganda to promote healthy practices before, during, and after childbirth and to monitor maternal health care–seeking and pregnancy outcomes in their communities. The manual outlines training approaches and activities, and provides background information to guide a four-day training workshop designed to equip VHTs with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to help support maternal care and prevent obstetric fistula. It was produced to complement and reinforce existing training materials for VHTs, by providing additional content and tools to support VHTs in their efforts to monitor and promote maternal health in their communities.
The manual was developed by Engender Health through the Fistula Care project, a five-year initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As part of Fistula Care’s efforts to prevent obstetric fistula, EngenderHealth works with local government partners in selected countries to establish or strengthen and support community-level committees and volunteers in promoting maternal health and maternal health care-seeking, to help reduce women’s risks of obstetric fistula. "The principal goal of the Fistula Care Project is to reduce the enormous backlog of women awaiting life-altering fistula repair, ensuring that these women receive timely and quality care from trained providers. At the same time, the project works to remove barriers to maternal health services that put women at risk of obstetric fistula."
The manual includes the following sessions:

• Session 1: Workshop introductions and overview
• Session 2: Maternal mortality and morbidity
• Session 3: Birth preparedness and male involvement
• Session 4: Family planning
• Session 5: Communication skills for improving maternal health
• Session 6: Pregnancy monitoring
• Session 7: Community awareness-raising skills and tools
• Session 8: Developing an action plan
• Session 9: Planning and working as a committee.