Benin is among the West African countries where the fertility rate, as well as the infant and maternal mortality rates, reflect a low standard of care. USAID helped the Government of Benin improve health care by strengthening the capacity of health workers and developing a training strategy at the basic medical school level. The strategy will allow young doctors, nurses, and midwives to participate in reproductive health training during their degree programs. The training will raise the quality of service once they are assigned to health facilities.

USAID assisted Benin’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Ministry of Public Health in designing and developing modules to train medical students on various aspects of reproductive health. The modules are taught as part of the curricula at the University of Benin’s School of Medicine as well as at schools for nurses and midwives. Professors from other Faculty of Medicine departments are also being trained in reproductive health.

To commemorate the new program, a launching ceremony was organized by the School of Medicine, which was attended by professors, deans, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research officials, and hundreds of medical students. In his opening speech, Professor Eusèbe Alihonou, the Reproductive Health Department head, declared “Benin is the first country in Francophone West Africa where reproductive health will be taught at the medical school. This is a historic achievement for our School of Medicine and we should be proud of it.”