Laerdal Foundation
WFSA has been working with the Laerdal Foundation since 2016 to strengthen anaesthesia care and improve maternal and neonatal outcomes through our medical education and training courses.
The partnership has spanned three multi-year projects which have focused on ‘Better Births, Safer Births, and SAFE Anaesthesia’.
First project
Goals: (2016-2018) Improve obstetric anaesthesia and maternal/neonatal outcomes through eight SAFE Obstetrics courses and assess their impact.
Achievements:
- Exceeded targets, delivering courses in Tanzania (3), Zimbabwe (2), Bangladesh (4), and Nepal (2).
- Evaluated and published the impact of SAFE Obstetrics on changes in clinical behaviour
- Distributed 100 Lifebox pulse oximeters with training.
- Developed Happy Birth Days film
- Trained 350+ clinicians and 100+ trainers.
Second project
Goals: (2019-2023) Expand SAFE courses into new regions in Tanzania/India (deliver four courses), pilot a refresher training course and assess impact, and develop non-technical skills via vital anaesthesia simulation training (VAST).
Achievements:
- Delivered SAFE (3) and VAST (3) courses (one each in India, two each in Tanzania)
- Piloted SAFE refresher workshops, a SAFE mentorship programme, and a Spinal Anaesthesia for Caesarean Delivery Assesment Tool (SACDAT).
- Gained Tanzanian Ministry of Health support for SAFE.
- Supported the pilot of VAST Wellbeing.
- Conducted four Society of Anaesthesiologists of Tanzania (SATA)-led SAFE courses.
- Research study evaluating the educational impact of SAFE Obs and refresher courses on behaviour change in the workplace
Third project
Goal: (2023-2026) This currently ongoing course focuses on ‘Safer Birth from Caesarean Section’, we will develop, pilot and evaluate a multidisciplinary, simulation-based curriculum for safe caesarean sections in Tanzania.
Planned features:
- Multidisciplinary design from inception and piloting of the curriculum
- Locally driven development in Tanzania with SATA, Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Tanzania (AGOTA), and Tanzania Midwives Association (AMA).
- A simulation-based curriculum including technical and non-technical skills training
- Advocacy support and adaptation of the course from global obstetric partners
Upcoming activities:
WFSA is currently in Year 2 of the project. So far, we have delivered one SAFE Obstetrics course and two SAFE Operating Room courses. We are in the process of developing the c-section online and in-person course.
This year there will also be a stakeholder meeting with Ministry of Health in Tanzania and a film documenting the first c-section pilot in September 2025.
