Improved Service Delivery for Safe Motherhood (ISDSM)

The ISDSM Project: Strengthening & Supporting Midwifery in Tanzania was a six‑year project to strengthen midwives’ capacity to deliver quality care to mothers and infants in six districts across rural Tanzania. It specifically targeted geographically disadvantaged areas that face limited access to emergency obstetric care and shortages of skilled maternal health care providers.

The unique and innovative collaboration between CAM and TAMA yielded the Midwives Emergency Skills Training Program (MEST), a training by and for midwives, designed specifically to increase midwives’ capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to emergencies of pregnancy, birth, and the period after birth. The training directly addresses the most common causes of maternal and infant mortality in Tanzania, and emphasizes hands‑on learning using mannequins and simulators, giving all participants time to practice life‑saving skills. Over the course of IDSM’s two phases, more than 500 midwives successfully completed the MEST training. The successes of this project provide a powerful model for the ways midwives and midwifery associations can lead in supporting safe midwifery internationally.

STATISTICS & PROJECT RESULTS

ISDSM Wraps Up

ISDSM closed in September 2018, having met and exceeded all major project objectives. READ MORE >>>

WORKSHOPS & TRAININGS

Helping to Save Lives

Stories from the midwife participants of the MEST in the Musoma and Mtwara Rural Districts. READ MORE >>>

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Midwives Working Together

This three‑part video series chronicles the success of the unique collaboration between CAM and TAMA, and their development of emergency skills training by and for midwives. READ MORE >>>

PARTNERS

ISDSM is a collaboration between:

Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM)

TAMA (Tanzania Midwives Association)

It is funded by the Sanofi Espoir Foundation

• Workshops & Trainings
• Stories from the Field
• Stats & Project Results
• ISDSM Videos