This project covered the final year of a three-year nurse training program at the Ola During Children’s hospital (ODCH), the first year of which was funded by the Addax and Oryx Foundation. The project sustainably improved the quality of care for sick newborns and children at ODCH, contributing to the reduction of neonatal and child mortality and morbidity. The Welbodi Partnership established and coached an in-house ‘Core Training Team’ (CTT) of 10 senior nurses, who developed and delivered of paediatric nursing modules at ODCH –the country's only tertiary children’s hospital. Throughout the project Welbodi’s International Peadiatric Nurse Trainers provided weekly one-on-one coaching to CTT members, offering mentorship and in-depth training on clinical education, covering topics such as on how to conduct clinical research, develop training modules and presentations and plan and deliver training. Overall, 577hours of training and 1030 hours of mentorship were delivered since July 2021. Moreover, a comprehensive 4-day nursing induction-training programme was established, with a Continuing Professionals Development (CPD) handbook; induction handbook and other clinical training prompt cards were developed and produced. Improving the paediatric-specific knowledge and skills of nurses will improve the quality of care received by children, in turn reducing the high number of preventable child deaths. This will create an impact within Freetown, but also at a national level, as ODCH serves as the primary site for paediatric nursing student placements in the country.
The Welbodi Partnership is a UK-registered charity based in Freetown and founded in 2008. Its mission is to build the capacity of the health system in Sierra Leone in order to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily.
News
Population
7.6 million (2017)
Per Capita Income
USD 510/year (2017)
Poverty rate *
53% (2011)
Literacy rate
32% (2016)
Human Development Index
184th out of 189 countries (2018)
Sierra Leone has made considerable progress since the end of the civil war in 2002, consolidating peace, democracy and improving development indicators. The Sierra Leone government has prioritised and implemented reforms aimed at reducing corruption, providing health care and improving transport, power and public health infrastructures. Despite these significant political and socio-economic achievements, infant and maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the world. Poverty is heavily concentrated in the rural and other urban areas around Freetown. Underemployment remains a challenge and is especially acute in rural areas, compounded by a high level of illiteracy. The Ebola outbreak in 2014 added immense pressure to already fragile health systems.
Sources: World Food Program, UNICEF, World Bank, 2016 Human Development Report, Human Development Indices and Indicators (2018 Statistical Update)
*The percentage of the population living below the national poverty line.