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Since 2021, the Rotary Club of Hai has worked in Donyo Morwak Ward, Siha District, to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. Initial Community health assessments conducted between 2019 and 2022 identified high rates of maternal and newborn deaths linked to long distances to care, delays in accessing skilled services, and limited emergency obstetric capacity, particularly for hemorrhage. Community members and midwives consistently reported deaths from excessive bleeding during childbirth.
In response, Rotary-supported Vocational/Volunteer Training Team (VTT) Global Grants (GG1981104 and GG2120218) trained Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and frontline health workers in postpartum hemorrhage management, infection prevention, essential newborn care, and the use of the Non-Pneumatic Anti- Shock Garment (NASG). These initiatives improved early recognition, stabilization, referral, and established a sustainable train-the-trainer model with PANETA and local providers.
However following post-partum hemorrhage, stabilization alone is not sufficient. Survival depends on timely access to safe blood transfusion. Currently, Siha District Hospital lacks a fully reliable blood service and often depends on distant referral facilities, causing critical delays for women with postpartum hemorrhage, children with severe anemia, and trauma patients.
This project builds directly upon the established VTT training platform and community engagement structures to complete the continuum of care from community-based detection and stabilization to definitive treatment at hospital level.
The project objective is to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality and severe morbidity in Siha District by strengthening blood services at Siha District Hospital.
Key Objectives
1. Strengthen infrastructure for blood collection, testing, storage, and distribution at Siha District Hospital.
2. Train hospital staff in safe blood banking and clinical transfusion practices.
3. Promote voluntary blood donation through community education and outreach.
4. Strengthen partnerships with the Ministry of Health, National Bank Transfusion Service (NBTS)/Damu
Salama
5. Improve outcomes for women with obstetric hemorrhage, children with severe anemia, and trauma patients.
The project directly addresses documented community needs and builds on prior Rotary-funded Vocational Training Team projects. It complements NASG use by enabling definitive treatment for excessive bleeding after
birth and integrates into existing hospital systems. Strong government alignment, local ownership, and community-based donor mobilization will support long-term sustainability.
Beneficiaries
Primary beneficiaries include pregnant and postpartum women, children with severe anemia, trauma victims, and patients requiring emergency transfusion. Secondary beneficiaries include referring health facilities, healthcare workers, and the wider community.
SUSTAINABILITY
The project ensures long-term sustainability by institutionalizing knowledge and building capacity across hospital and community systems.
Clinical staff, laboratory personnel, and hospital management will receive competency-based training in blood bank operations, transfusion safety, quality control, and emergency response, while community leaders and volunteers are trained to promote voluntary blood donation and address cultural barriers.
A training-of-trainers model, along with Standard Operating Procedures, user manuals, and training materials, ensures that expertise remains within the hospital and is passed on to new staff.
Management and leadership workshops, combined with integration of procedures into routine orientation and on-the-job training, further embed best practices.
All activities are aligned with national guidelines and conducted with the National Blood Transfusion Services and hospital leadership, creating a self-sustaining system capable of maintaining safe, efficient blood services beyond the grant period.
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