Maternity Foundation and UNFPA launch new Arabic language version of a popular digital health tool to improve quality training of midwives in the Arab region

[Deeq A.]

Maternity Foundation and UNFPA launch new Arabic language version of a popular digital health tool to improve quality training of midwives in the Arab region

New York/Cairo/Copenhagen, 24 November 2022 – Maternity Foundation and the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) have just launched an Arabic version of the widely used digital health tool, the Safe Delivery App, that empowers midwives and other healthcare workers to ensure safer births for women and newborns in low-resource settings.

“Having an Arabic version of the Safe Delivery App has long been a priority for the Maternity Foundation. I am so pleased that with the support from our partner, UNFPA, we have been finally able to make the App available in Arabic to thousands of healthcare workers involved in providing maternal and newborn care in the Arab region. These include those caring for vulnerable women and newborns in several countries affected by conflict and crisis in the region,” says Anna Frellsen, CEO of Maternity Foundation.

The development of the Arabic version was a highly collaborative process between Maternity Foundation, UNFPA and other partners including Johnson & Johnson and Médecins Sans Frontières, who generously contributed their resources and technical expertise. Input was also provided from healthcare workers from Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Syria who piloted the App and gave valuable feedback.

“In a region that is so rich culturally and, in many parts, economically as well, it is sad to see so much devastation caused by conflict and crises. I am totally delighted that after almost two years of hard work, the Arabic version of the App has now been launched. It will be most useful in helping midwives and other frontline health workers to provide quality care by updating their key concepts and knowledge on normal birth and key obstetric emergencies,” says Geeta Lal, Global Midwifery Programme Coordinator, UNFPA.

The Arab region faces specific contextual challenges in terms of maternal and newborn health, which vary significantly between countries. These have all been further impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is hoped that this new version of the Safe Delivery App will, in particular, empower healthcare workers in countries that experience higher rates of maternal and newborn death.

The new Arabic version is the newest version of Maternity Foundation’s Safe Delivery App, which is already available in English and French, in addition to 29 other national languages. To date, more than 270,000 health workers have downloaded the Safe Delivery App globally.

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Qaran News