Anna Bernabei on a mission for SonoMobile

The World Friends project SonoMobile is carried out in collaboration with the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). The goal is to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 in Kenya: to ensure health and well-being for all and for all ages. The project was born fromneed to improve the health conditions of pregnant women and newborns in the Northeast area of ​​Nairobi. In slums, obstetric ultrasound services are difficult to access and this reduces the effectiveness of care for mothers and babies. Neonatal mortality rates are much higher than in the rest of the capital, while maternal mortality is double the national average.

The mission of Dr. Bernabei

Over the years World Friends has collaborated on various projects, such as PIR, With the The Tuscan Regional Authority, which offered the expertise of various doctors and financial aid.

In 2019, the first year of implementation of the SonoMobile project, the renowned gynecologist Dr. Anna Bernabei conducted two intense weeks of training in the use of mobile ultrasound systems for SonoMobile nurses. One of the main activities envisaged by the project, in fact, consists in the training of nurses and midwives specialized in ultrasound.

This year, thanks to the Tuscany Region through the Global Health Center, partner of World Friends for the SonoMobile project, Dr. Bernabei carried out a mission from 20 to 30 January, focused on evaluation of the technical level reached by the nurses and on the development of a training curriculum in partnership with World Friends and the KMTC. Dr. Bernabei visited the various facilities where obstetric staff conduct ultrasound activities, training nurses and improving their skills.

In the slums, 60% of health facilities do not have an ultrasound service. The costs for equipment and personnel are prohibitive. Consequently, facilities offering perinatal care need greater technological availability and trained staff, under more flexible conditions. Offering an ultrasound service closer to communities will make it accessible to all women, even those with physical disabilities. Qualified obstetricians equipped with mobile ultrasound scanners have a better chance of detecting dangerous conditions for mothers and babies in Nairobi slums. This allows World Friends to contribute to SDG 3 and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in slums.

World Friends is very grateful to the Tuscany Region for its ongoing support through the numerous collaborations aimed at maternal and child health in the slums of the eastern area of ​​Nairobi.