Liberia. Vezela clinic, Lofa county. Women listen to a lecture during the ICRC/Ministry of Health-supported Trained Traditional Midwife programme.

These women have volunteered to undergo a six-month training programme, learning how to perform safe deliveries and about when and where to refer high-risk deliveries. Because of the low levels of literacy among traditional midwives, most of the training takes place in the form of easy-to-remember songs, dramas and plays. On graduating, each trained midwife receives certificate recognized by the ministry and a delivery kit provided by the ICRC.

Liberia's civil war left rural areas with few medical staff and functioning medical facilities. The programme was launched to help redress this problem.