UNITAR
30 March 2023, Dakar, Senegal – UNITAR, the Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders (CIFAL) Dakar, and the Municipality of Dakar hosted forty-two nurses and midwives from Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Mali for a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop titled “Improving Breastfeeding Education in Sub-Saharan Africa” on 15 and 16 March 2023 in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop contributed to the goal of promoting breastfeeding education and optimal breastfeeding practices. Primarily aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, promoting breastfeeding education includes ending hunger, improving nutrition, and promoting health and well-being. This workshop aimed to develop confident, competent trainers with the skills to plan, conduct, and evaluate training in breastfeeding.
UNITAR
Reflecting on the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, CIFAL Dakar successfully concluded the first ToT workshop of the Global Breastfeeding Education Initiative, which response to the goal of increasing exclusive breastfeeding initiation and duration rates around the world, with a particular emphasis on empowering healthcare professionals in supporting mothers on their breastfeeding journey. Dr Mouhamed Diop, the Director of CIFAL Dakar, welcomed the participants and presented the programme objectives, which focused on improving breastfeeding outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. He also introduced the four experts and trainers who led the workshop and provided expertise in infant and maternal health and nutrition.
Experts and Trainers
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Professor Lassina Cissé, Head of the Pediatric Department, Trecheville Hospital; Member of the Société Ivoirienne de Pédiatrie (SIP), Côte d’Ivoire
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Professor Eliane Kuissi Kamgaing, Head of the Neonatal Department, CHU Mère et Enfant de la Fondation Jeanne Ebori; Member of the Société Gabonaise de Pédiatrie (SOGAPED), Gabon
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Professor Fatou Ly, Head of the Pediatric Department, Pikine Hospital; President of the Scientific Committee of the Nutrition Société Sénégalaise de Pédiatrie (SOSEPED), Senegal
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Professor Anne Esther Njom Nlend, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Yaoundé-Nkolondom; President of the Cameroon Medical Women Association and President of the Cameroon Society of Perinatal Medicine, Cameroon
From left to right: Dr. Mouhamed Diop, Professor Anne Esther Njom Nlend, Professor Fatou Ly, Professor Lassina Cissé, Ms. Fanny Krumholz, Professor Eliane Kuissi Kamgaing, and Ms. Yuval Cohen
“Breastfeeding is essential to the realisation of a significant number of Sustainable Development Goals. It contributes to improving nutrition, to preventing infant mortality and reducing the risk of noncommunicable diseases, and to encouraging quality development and education.” Dr. Mouhamed Diop, Director of CIFAL Dakar
UNITAR
During the two-day workshop, the forty-two participants completed UNITAR’s face-to-face training, “The Magic Drop: Supporting Mothers along the Journey.” The course, adapted to the region’s realities, provided the tools necessary for enhancing breastfeeding education, including the essentials of breastfeeding, establishing breastfeeding, and maintaining breastfeeding in the community. During the course, participants were assessed through practice tests and clinical activities. Tailored to the participants, the workshop included best-practice sharing and exercises using infant mannequins to demonstrate proper latching and positioning. The hands-on approach enabled the participants to apply their newly acquired knowledge to meet ongoing challenges while allowing for knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals. After completing each of the three modules of the course and the accompanying activities, each participant was awarded a Certificate of Completion.
UNITAR
At the start and end of the workshop, participants completed self-assessments to gauge their knowledge of breastfeeding-related topics and assess their attitudinal changes, which were carefully recorded by the UNITAR team and will be valuable input for future capacity building and development planning. The successful collaboration between UNITAR, CIFAL Dakar, and the Municipality of Dakar, supported by Danone, opens opportunities for bringing together government staff and healthcare professionals to develop sustainable capacities and improve breastfeeding duration and initiation long-term across the globe.
"What I really loved, what I found very interesting, was the multiculturality. The fact that we were participants but also trainers from different countries. We were able to have very good feedback, a sharing of experience...so for me, it's the best of this kind of training that is organised internationally with several nationalities represented." – Ms Linda Takou, Midwife and Sexologist, Naitre en Rose Academy, Cameroon
UNITAR
UNITAR