Making History and other tales from Cambodia

Some of the Phnom Penh Provincial Council midwives being sworn in at the Council's official opening of its 22nd provincial office

Well dear blogger there is much to do here in Cambodia and not enough time to do it as reported in my last missive  my work at the Council is going well I have just completed an outline proposal for them in order to secure more resources to accelerate their progress towards achieving the regulation of Midwives in Cambodia. This is hugely important as the evidence shows that in countries where there are robust systems in place for regulating the profession then maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity rates improve.
There is not a week goes by now that there is not a horror story in the newspapers here of women dyeing for the want of skilled/ birth attendance and increasingly the public are going to the press with their concerns (note not the authorities!) about the behaviour or competence of midwives which on the one hand is terrible but on the other it is good  for pushing forward the case for registration and regulation.
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Provincial Council for Phnom Penh so far the Council has opened 22 offices one in every province where all midwives will be expected to register it was held in PP's Municipal referral hospital I was told about it 10 minutes before it was due to start but as it was only around the corner from the office I got there on time.
Cambodians certainly know how to put on an occasion the hospital director was there ( a very stylish lady) and her deputy plus 45 invited guests from the district ie hospitals and health centres.
The event kicked off with the national anthem and then introductions I was asked to stand and got a round of applause!! my only regret was that as I didn't know in advance I didn't look particularly smart and would have liked to have taken the opportunity to wear my new sampot ( Cambodian Skirt) after introductions Ing Rada read out the Royal Decree which set up the Council and outlined its role and function after which the nominated midwives for the provincial Council were sworn in. Below are pictures of the event.

In the centre is Ms Ing Rada President of CMC on her right the hospital Director a Dr and on her left the deputy Director also a Dr.

  The Council has two further provincial offices to open and one regional office but has not the budget in this financial year so further delays CMC's progress in achieving full registration of all midwives even further so it seems more important than ever that our proposal to international donors is successful we are planning to meet with them in the near future.
These fantastic midwives had no idea that they were making history by pioneering regulation of midwives for Cambodia it was great to be a part of it
All efforts now are going into preparing the Councils executive team in presenting their case at the donor meeting  I want the international donors to see how committed these midwives are and that given more resources they will make a big difference although this will not be easy as money is tight.
Wish us luck!!!!
I have been busy on other work fronts too the informal health and related professionals network meetings are going well and gaining new members all the time we are now at 31 and I can see people making connections and we friendships are blossoming which is so important here we have had some very interesting  presentations and discussions so I hope that it will continue when I leave.
Also just written an article for Health Messenger which is a health magazine aimed at nurses and midwives at health centre level so a wide readership. It is unique in Cambodia and is produced in English and Khmer.
My article was about the attributes of a good midwife which of course included the clinical skills and competencies required but  also I tried to emphasise the personal/behavioural qualities including care, compassion and advocacy vital  components in my view and much in need of here.
I used as a case study one of the student midwives I have met at the valuing life clinic here in PP Theary is a second year student at University and is just the sort of role model for the future midwife Cambodia needs she is kind listens to the women understands their problems and talks to them as equals she gives me hope in the future
Talking of the clinic there was great excitement last Saturday as I took more of the equipment sent over from my old pals at the SHA and clinical skills network and pride of place was the haemacue (haemoglobin measurement machine) purchased using donations raised by my wonderful Vocal Expressions Ladies Choir of Holmfirth it was fantastic we tested every woman attending the ANC as it is so long since we have been able to rest their Hb every one had some degree of anaemia which is endemic in poor communities but can be a killer for pregnant women after delivery as even moderate bleeding with a depleted Hb can be disastrous.
One young woman had an Hb of 8.7g (normal 12-14g ) at 32 weeks she really needs urgent treatment so as you can see already the haemacue has been worth its weight in gold

Testing for anaemia

The wonderful haemacue

Lea Howie!!!
PS ALL photographs published by kind permission of the subjects