Last week, construction was finished on a new medical facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. The Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital is a donation from the Chinese government to Ethiopia. The hospital also includes the Advanced Midwifery Practice Center which will be operated with the help of a long-term medical team from Shanghai and train a new generation of midwives with the help of Victoria, the world’s most lifelike childbirth simulator.

Ethiopia is the second-most populous nation in Africa, and its citizens struggle to get access to adequate medical facilities, doctors, and nurses. Most Ethiopians are born at home and are delivered by local women who serve as midwives. Although infant and maternal mortality rates have improved significantly in recent years, these rates remain relatively high. The lack of trained health care professionals also means that birth-related complications such as obstetric fistula affect many women in Ethiopia.

The WHO determined that a majority of maternal fatalities and injuries could be avoided if deliveries were to take place at well-equipped health centers with adequately trained staff. The new hospital gives more patients access to a modern medical facility and the addition of Victoria to the Advanced Midwifery Center will guarantee that students receive adequate training, so they can handle medical emergencies and improve patient outcomes.

By using Victoria’s many realistic features and advanced fetal delivery system, the students can rehearse a variety of low and high-risk obstetrical events to address the common health care issues that Ethiopia is struggling with. Many of the birth-related complications that do permanent harm or kill women in Ethiopia are rare in the developed world, in part because these medical professionals have access to modern training, procedures, equipment, and supplies.

For a nation working to improve its infant and maternal mortality rate, Victoria will allow learners to learn and rehearse many of the modern lifesaving medical skills that produce better results for patients. Learners can practice how to identify a normal delivery, how to respond to emergency situations like a shoulder dystocia, and even increase their skills in surgical procedures to aid a difficult delivery like a C-section or episiotomy repair. By mastering these skills on a simulated patient, the learners do not run the risk of harming a real patient while improving their performance and gaining valuable hands-on experience.

Additionally, Victoria will be a major asset to a developing nation like Ethiopia that struggles with the infrastructure and energy needs of certain technology. Electricity coverage in Ethiopia is 85% in urban areas and 10% coverage in rural areas. Victoria’s long battery life and wireless and tetherless technology allow for true “Care in Motion” simulations meaning simulations can be done in-situ or in transit and for up to eight hours before needing to be recharged.

These features make Victoria incredibly efficient and helpful, especially in rural areas that lack steady sources of electricity. More rural doctors and midwives can receive reliable training and bring the maternal care desperately needed in these areas. Even if women continue to deliver at home, the delivery will be performed by a highly trained midwife that can quickly respond to an emergency situation with the modern medical training she has received. This will help reduce the overall infant and maternal mortality rate.

The Advanced Midwifery Practice Center will assure more Ethiopian women have access to the modern health care that saves lives. Gaumard is proud to be a part of the noble endeavor of bringing better health care to developing countries and improving the lives of the women and children in these countries.

To learn more about Victoria visit the Gaumard website or click on the link.