Since 1982, the Department of Global Outreach of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) has implemented projects and provided technical assistance in more than 30 developing countries.
These activities have shared the common goal of bettering the lives of women and children by strengthening maternal and newborn health, family planning, and other reproductive health services and practices.
Through these programs, nurse-midwives are assisting with policy development; standards and protocol development; training government and private sector midwives, nurses and other health care providers; developing, implementing and evaluating the Life Saving Skills series training program; strengthening community-facility collaboration; conducting research on maternal mortality; establishing partnerships with sister midwifery associations in developing countries; and helping institutionalize effective, evidence-based methods of maternal and child healthcare service delivery.
Core Programs:
 Life Saving Skills Training Program.
In developing countries, the preponderance of maternal deaths are due to direct causes: hemorrhage, sepsis, unsafe abortion, pregnancy induced hypertension and obstructed labor. Most of these deaths are preventable through quality maternity care, improved nutrition, family planning, access to postabortion care, available transportation and communication, rapid and safe blood services, improved education for women and girls, and the improved status of women within the culture. The Life Saving Skills program encourages an expanded role for the midwife in recognizing and responding to life-threatening obstetrical and neonatalmidwives and other skilled providers, to strengthen pre-service emergencies. The program provides didactic training in critical knowledge, along with intensive on-the-job, competency-based clinical experience in specific interventions aimed at preventing or minimizing the mortality and morbidity associated with the major causes of maternal and neonatal death. The manual and supporting materials teach problem solving using a history and physical examination, problem identification and appropriate action, and referral with stabilization and transportation. Principles of infection prevention and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV are incorporated throughout. The LSS Manual has been used in continuing education programs for experiencedtraining for midwifery students and incorporated into basic training programs for community providers which can be run by ministries of health, schools of education, or midwifery associations. LSS has been implemented in Ghana , Uganda , Nigeria , Viet Nam , Indonesia , Cambodia , Bangladesh , Eritrea , Zambia , Russia , Honduras , Tanzania , Tajikistan , Rwanda , Ethiopia , and Liberia . Learn more about LSS.
Home Based Life Saving Skills
Home Based Life Saving Skills (HBLSS) is a family-focused community-based program aiming to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in environments where home birth is the norm. HBLSS takes into account the social context of childbirth, focusing on the pregnant woman, her family caregivers, and the home birth attendant as a team. It increases access to first-aid care at the community level and decreases delays in reaching referral facilities where life-threatening problems can be managed. HBLSS is a competency- based model that utilizes flexible modules incorporating picture cards as learning tools and a monitoring/ quality assurance component. HBLSS has been successfully field tested in India under PRIME II and in Ethiopia with Save the Children and implemented in Haiti and Liberia . Learn more about HBLSS.
Strengthening of Midwifery Associations
ACNM has assisted with capacity-building and institution-strengthening of midwifery associations in Ghana , Uganda , Zimbabwe , Zambia , Senegal , Eritrea , Tanzania , Morocco , Indonesia , and Afghanistan . Technical areas include organizational development, developing training capacity, continuing education, quality assurance, and service delivery. ACNM's organizational development work with midwifery associations is focused on building the capacity of their membership to serve as in-country resources that can promote the continuity of care throughout the life cycle, ensure integration of these services into the primary health care system, and give midwives a voice in policy and standards setting.
Capabilities:
Staff and consultants with global health experience and technical and clinical expertise in all areas of reproductive health.
Technical expertise in conducting: needs assessments; policy analysis and development; clinical training; standards and protocol development; training materials development.
Curriculum development for preservice/in-service training;
Midwifery association strengthening;
Technical support for research and evaluation activities;
Providing facilitation for workshops on reproductive health topics;
Development of standards for licensing/accreditation;
Rapid response and turn around;
Expert backstopping for consultancies;
About ACNM
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), incorporated as a 501(c)(6) organization in 1955, is the professional association for certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives in the United States and has almost 7,000 members. The ACNM sets standards for the education and practice of midwives, provides continuing education programs for women's health care professionals, serves as a link between its members and the public, participates in the development of women's health policy on the national and local level, and provides technical assistance for domestic and international projects.
The ACNM is registered as a Private and Voluntary Organization with the United States Agency for International Development and is qualified under the Gray Amendment.
During LSS and HBLSS training, ACNM Department of Global Outreach staff and consultants teach the importance of preventing hypothermia by putting a hat on a newborn immediately after birth. However, hats are frequently not available. That's why we're asking ACNM members to send hats to the national office for our Beanies for Babies campaign. Donate your knitted or crotched hats today. Send them to: Annie Clark, ACNM, 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 1550, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Questions? Contact Annie Clark.
Since 1982, the Department of Global Outreach of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) has implemented projects and provided technical assistance in more than 30 developing countries.
program provides didactic training in critical knowledge, along with intensive on-the-job, competency-based clinical experience in specific interventions aimed at preventing or minimizing the mortality and morbidity associated with the major causes of maternal and neonatal death. The manual and supporting materials teach problem solving using a history and physical examination, problem identification and appropriate action, and referral with stabilization and transportation. Principles of infection prevention and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV are incorporated throughout. The LSS Manual has been used in continuing education programs for experiencedtraining for midwifery students and incorporated into basic training programs for community providers which can be run by ministries of health, schools of education, or midwifery associations. LSS has been implemented in Ghana , Uganda , Nigeria , Viet Nam , Indonesia , Cambodia , Bangladesh , Eritrea , Zambia , Russia , Honduras , Tanzania , Tajikistan , Rwanda , Ethiopia , and Liberia . 
reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in environments where home birth is the norm. HBLSS takes into account the social context of childbirth, focusing on the pregnant woman, her family caregivers, and the home birth attendant as a team. It increases access to first-aid care at the community level and decreases delays in reaching referral facilities where life-threatening problems can be managed. HBLSS is a competency- based model that utilizes flexible modules incorporating picture cards as learning tools and a monitoring/ quality assurance component. HBLSS has been successfully field tested in India under PRIME II and in Ethiopia with Save the Children and implemented in Haiti and Liberia . 
Zambia , Senegal , Eritrea , Tanzania , Morocco , Indonesia , and Afghanistan . Technical areas include organizational development, developing training capacity, continuing education, quality assurance, and service delivery. ACNM's organizational development work with midwifery associations is focused on building the capacity of their membership to serve as in-country resources that can promote the continuity of care throughout the life cycle, ensure integration of these services into the primary health care system, and give midwives a voice in policy and standards setting.