Midwives share knowledge with colleagues in Zimbabwe as part of the Safe Birth Project
Midwives from Zimbabwe will be joining maternity colleagues in Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust via a video conferencing link to take part in educational activities and presentations marking International Day of the Midwife (celebrated 5 May each year). This strengthens relationships already established via the Safe Birth Project.
In March three midwives from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Mary Tariro Mutizwa, Eva Vinson and Corina Wilson, travelled to Zimbabwe as part of an educational programme to help give every newborn the best possible start in life. The programme, known as the Safe Birth Project, links the maternity team at the Trust with colleagues at Luisa Guidotti Hospital in Mutoko, Zimbabwe and will provide training for 90 midwives.
In Zimbabwe, around 24 out of every 1,000 babies born don’t survive the first 28 days of life. In the UK, the number is just under 3 per 1,000. The Safe Birth Project was set up to address this difference and aims to help reduce maternal and newborn deaths by at least 5%.
Before moving to the UK and joining the Trust, midwife Mary Tariro Mutizwa had worked at a small mission hospital in East Mashonaland, Zimbabwe. Ever since then she has been determined to do something to help improve the chances for newborns in the country. Mary shared her thoughts with colleagues in the Trust who were moved to support her mission. Michelle East, Director of Midwifery for the Trust, successfully applied for funding through the Global Health Partnership (THET) and the Safe Birth Project officially began.
The project is designed to offer meaningful, hands-on training to 90 midwives across the Mutoko and Mudzi districts, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
After many months of careful planning and hard work Mary, Eva and Corina flew to Zimbabwe at the end of March armed with equipment to run fully interactive workshops, covering topics from labour care to emergency response and neonatal resuscitation. They were joined in Luisa Guidotti Hospital by local educator Tutor Irine Chipuriro.
The Trust midwives hoped to bridge knowledge gaps by offering up-to-date, practical training that mirrors the multidisciplinary sessions staff at the Trust receive every year. A key part of the plan was to train 14 cascade trainers – midwives who could carry the learning forward, sharing it with others and helping it take root in their communities.
The training programme was developed by Corina, who combined previous experience of teaching in Liberia and her current work as a maternity educator in the Trust. Corina created four modules that built gradually, helping participants move from theory to practice through simulation-based learning. Topics included proactive care in labour and birth, Helping Mothers Survive, and Helping Babies Survive.
Following the training visit Corina Wilson said: “What made the experience truly special weren’t just the clinical outcomes, but the human connections. We were met with warmth, generosity, and genuine kindness. There was such a deep appreciation for the training – and a heartfelt desire to take the knowledge gained and use it to support their colleagues and communities. We’ve already started to see the ripple effects. Practices are beginning to shift, conversations are opening up, and the skills shared are being passed along.”
Michelle East, Director of Midwifery for the Trust said: “The programme is not just about passing on our training expertise, it’s a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and experience. Our Trust midwives benefit by developing a deeper understanding of global health issues such as the rising rates of neonatal death associated with climate change and a better understanding of why the maternal death rate for black women in the UK is four times higher than for white women. Such insights will help us to make maternity service improvements to make it safer for all women who give birth in Buckinghamshire.”
Pictured above left to right: Trust midwives who flew out to deliver training in Zimbabwe, Mary Tariro Mutizwa, Eva Vinson and Corina Wilson.
Pictured above: Corina in a one to one training session.
