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Out of 500 applications, Moyo – Improved Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring for Safer Births project, was one of 30 award nominees for the Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge. This was announced at the Development X Change 2014 in Washington on 1 August.
Moyo-Improved Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring for Safer Births
The Moyo project will contribute to the development of Laerdal’s Fetal Heart Rate Monitor, and an adapted simulation-based training program for timely and improved obstetric responses. It will also pilot test Moyo in labor wards and antenatal care in four sites in Tanzania. The two urban sites are Temeke District Hospital and Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, while the rural sites are Haydom Lutheran Hospital and Dongobesh Health Center in Northern Tanzania. Muhimbili and Haydom are both large referral hospitals, while Temeke and Dongobesh are referring the complicated cases to the two others.
The hypothesis of the project is that Moyo, together with timely obstetric responses, will reduce the burden of stillbirth and birth asphyxia. We also think that if we expand the use of Moyo to referring hospitals and dispensaries will improve referrals, and finally that training antenatal care nurses and using Moyo in antenatal visits, will build trust with the nurses who will encourage mothers to deliver in safe environments.
By implementing this new device and training, we expect to see earlier detection and diagnosis of abnormal fetal heart rate at all four sites and an increase in timely referrals from the two referring sites. Our hypothesis is that earlier detection of fetuses at risk and timely obstetric responses can lead to a 30-40 % reduction in fresh stillbirths and birth asphyxia.
Saving Lives at Birth Round 4
The Saving Lives at Birth partnership, launched in 2011, includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada), and the U.K’s Department for International Development (DFID). This year was the fourth time the grant was announced and 52 projects were selected as finalists. All finalists, including Laerdal Global Health, were participating at the Development X Change, displaying their projects. Laerdal Global Health will now enter into final negotiations before awards are issued.
Read the full press release from Saving Lives at Birth here.
For more information, see the Saving Lives at Birth website.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]