Kyrgyzstan

Training midwives in Kyrgyzstan to provide safe abortion care

This project responds to a WHO strategic assessment recommendation in 2012 to train midwives to provide medical abortion up to 9 weeks gestation in order to extend safe abortion care to women living in rural, underserved areas of Kyrgyzstan. 

This project will demonstrate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of training and supporting midwives to provide medical abortions in a reproductive health centre (RHC), maternity hospital (MH), and 28 Feldsher Midwife Points (FAPs), as a strategy to increase the availability of safe abortion services in Kyrgyzstan. The primary objective is to demonstrate that midwives can be trained to provide a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol for medical abortions up to 9 weeks gestation and make appropriate referrals for women who prefer vacuum aspiration or require treatment for complications.The project has multiple components:

  • train and support midwives to provide medical abortion as the standard of care in selected RHC/MH and FAPs;
  • determine if medical abortion provided by midwives is feasible and acceptable to patients;
  • evaluate the training and competency of the midwives through interviews to assess their experiences providing medical abortion and needs for on-going support, and an analysis of the appropriateness of their referrals for higher-level care.

The project successfully started in 2013 and will finish in 2015. By 1 November 2014, there were 130 medical abortions performed altogether in pilot districts - Suzak and Alamedin.

Long-term institutional development (LID) grant

The first step in the process of applying for an LID grant from WHO has been done. A discussion was held between WHO and the Ministry of Health on submission of a proposal for a LID grant. Once the institutional profile is developed and accepted, Kyrgyzstan Country  Office will draft a full LID grant proposal to fund research capacity strengthening in the National Centre for Mother and Child Health (NCMCH). WHO is supporting both the institutional profile as well as the full grant proposal.