Johnson & Johnson - Index

Johnson & Johnson - contribution - Index

BUILDING HEALTH CARE CAPACITY
PEOPLE, PARTNERS, PASSION
Training Midwives,
Saving Lives in Vietnam
In Vietnam, the mortality rate for children under the age of five has steadily
declined due to concerted efforts by the government. However, the number
of newborn deaths still remains high. Infant deaths caused by asphyxia, birth
injuries, low birth weight, and infectious diseases represent more than half
of all deaths of children under one year old.
Many hospitals and health care centers in Vietnam lack
adequate newborn care facilities and equipment, which
contributes to this high infant mortality rate. Additionally,
midwives are not properly trained to handle emergency
cases when they arise.
Recognizing the need to address this serious issue,
Johnson & Johnson provided funding for the Midwife
Training on Neonatal Care program, managed by the
Vietnam Reproductive Healthcare Department. The goal
of the program is to reduce the number of infant deaths
and accidents in hospitals by improving the medical
knowledge of midwives across the country.
Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City plays an important
role in the midwife training program for South Vietnam
and the Mekong Delta. Tu Du Hospital is considered the
leading center for maternity health care in the country,
reducing its infant mortality rate from 1.19 percent in
1997 to less than one percent in 2006.
“Tu Du Hospital is one of the biggest and most
state-of-the-art maternity hospitals in Vietnam,” says
Katsura Tsuno, director of Corporate Contributions,
Asia-Pacific for Johnson & Johnson. “Tu Du also
functions as a teaching hospital and, therefore, is the
best partner for Johnson & Johnson to work with for
midwife education.”
During the year, Tu Du Hospital extended its support
to 32 cities and provinces in Central and South Vietnam.
The facility held training sessions and also sent teachers to
remote villages to conduct training. The program focused
specifically on rural areas, where midwives have less opportunity
to learn about new techniques and technologies.
Each neonatal care class runs for one week, and is
taught by university physicians and pediatricians who
specialize in newborn intensive care. Training sessions
cover such topics as asphyxiation, newborn infections,
yellow skin, and neonatal massage.
Phan Thi Phuong Trinh, a midwife in the Delivery
Department at Tu Du Hospital, has greatly benefited from
the training. “The courses give us a chance to review and
update our knowledge and skills in several areas, which we
can apply immediately when we return to work,” she says.
“We have learned, for instance, better ways to identify
signs of respiratory failure in infants during a delivery.”
Another program goal is to teach doctors and midwives
to become trainers themselves. The
program is designed to train 300
participants who, in turn, share their
knowledge with colleagues within
their own provincial hospitals.
Midwives are taught how to teach
parents infant care procedures, too.
“We have learned how to train parents
in neonatal massage, which is used to
stimulate the infant’s circulatory and
digestive system,” Trinh says.
With support from Johnson & Johnson,
this program will continue to improve the
standard of neonatal care among doctors
and midwives across the country. �
10 JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2007 WORLDWIDE CONTRIBUTIONS PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT