Ugandan wins midwifery award

Sister Agnes Kasaigi Kasoone. Courtesy photo

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Based in Buwenge Hospital in Jinja District, the midwife was recognised for her expertise in helping revive babies who have trouble breathing at birth.

Kampala- A Ugandan midwife, Sister Agnes Kasaigi Kasoone, has won the 2014 International Midwife Award for her role in reducing new born deaths and stillbirths

The midwife in charge of the maternity unit at Buwenge Hospital in Jinja District, beat 55 other nominees from 17 countries to scoop the prestigious award. She is an expert in helping revive babies who have trouble breathing at birth.

Sr Kasoone received the award which recognises midwives who focus on maternal and newborn care in low-resource settings jointly with Pronita Rani Raha of Bangladesh at the 30th Triennial ICM Congress in Prague, Czech Republic yesterday.

“Initially, I would register one or two stillbirths a month, but now I can even spend three months without handling a mother with a stillbirth. I have resuscitated so many babies. What I am sure of is that we have helped very many babies to survive,” she said at the award ceremony.

Save the Children Uganda Country Director, Ms Barbara Burroughs, said it was an honour for the NGO to join the International Confederation of Midwives in presenting Sister Kasoone with the award. “She is a highly skilled midwife who has saved the lives of countless mothers and babies during her more than ten years at Buwenge Hospital,” Ms Burroughs said.