Anubha Rawat, Director at Partners for Equity recently visited Integrate Health in Togo, West Africa where she met with Jennifer Schechter, Co-Founder and CEO, along with the Integrate Health team and spent time with some of their Community Health Workers.
Anubha witnessed their Ultrasound ‘Task Shifting’ program in action. All of the Integrate Health staff, and the district nursing staff are so excited by the potential of this program. Previously, women who needed an ultrasound would have to go to the city of Kara, which could be a couple of hours away, based on their location. They would also have to wait all day and pay for the cost of an ultrasound – an all day affair which most women and families cannot afford.
Under the guidance of the Ministry of Health, Nurse Midwives underwent a training program in basic obstetric care ultrasound scanning. These Nurses are now able to provide a free scan to every mother who attends antenatal care at their clinics. They are trained to look for anything that is out of the ordinary and only refer cases that need the attention of a skilled Radiologist. This not only reduces the burden on the healthcare system, but importantly provides peace of mind to the mother and her family.
Integrate Health is committed to removing user fees and so all pregnant women in Kara region are able to receive an ultrasound for free! The Nurse Midwives have conducted over 4,000 scans last year and 1,200 in March / April this year alone. Each nurse scans about 25 patients a day and they have a rotation of visiting around 70 health centres every month with the roaming ultrasound machines.
