Bissau, 10 November 2022 –  A group of 8 midwives (to be integrated in the teaching staff of the National School of Health) and 7 teachers participate in 3 (three) training courses in the areas of: Teaching/Learning Methodologies (theoretical), Pedagogical Practices and Computer Techniques and Communication, at the National Health School in Bissau.

The training courses will be held at the National School of Health, from 07 November 2022 to 09 December 2022, with technical and financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

During the official opening ceremony, the UNFPA Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Jocelyn Fenard, said that "the integration of the Complementary Nursing and Midwifery Courses will contribute to the training of future health care providers, and also improve the care that the current trainees provide where they already work". He continued by stressing that nursing and midwifery professionals must understand that at the end of their studies they will contribute to the strengthening of the nursing and midwifery corps, saying that "from now on, you must measure your responsibility to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted and every birth is safe in order to reduce the maternal morbidity and mortality rate from 746/100,000 to 497/100,000 live births within the horizon of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals".

In turn, the Director of the National School of Health, Dr Adelino José de Pina, said that the National School of Health has a great responsibility to ensure human resources for the country, making an appeal to students "I would like to tell students that the school continuously strives to have more and better quality, so it is expected that students have the same responsibility to study hard to be competent health professionals in the future". He continued by saying that "I would also like to leave a word of thanks to UNFPA who has contributed not only to the National School of Health, but to improving health indicators at country level"..

The trainings aim to:

• Contribute to a pedagogical practice that ensures an increasing quality teaching, enhancing the teaching of Obstetrics for a delivery of quality care to the woman, fetus, neonate and child.
• To provide trainees with the opportunity of qualification in Computer and Communication Technologies.
• To contribute to ensuring a teaching-learning of scientific and technical quality for teachers and future teachers respecting the guidelines established by the ICM International Confederation of Midwife (2002) WHO and UNFPA aiming at midwives and nurses for quality care.

The mission of the National School of Health is to coordinate and implement continuous training processes for technicians in the National Health System of Guinea-Bissau, with teaching, research and technical cooperation as its priorities.