Midwives set for course in London

Midwives set for course in London

JAKARTA (JP): The government has selected 30 nurse instructors
from four colleges in Indonesia to undergo training at the Royal
College of Midwives (RCM) in London.

The World Bank-funded education program is part of the
government's drive to reduce the maternal and infant mortality
rates in the country, Minister of Health Sujudi said on Wednesday
after briefing the 30 participants.

The government plans to reduce the maternal death rate from
420 to 225 per 100,000 births by the middle of the current Five-
year Development Plan which began last year.

"By then, the number of midwives serving all villages
throughout the country will reach 54,000," he said.

The midwife teachers were selected from four nursing colleges
in Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Bandung (West Java) and Ujung
Pandang (South Sulawesi).

The midwives have undergone training in the Jakarta Central
Hospital for the last four weeks. (05)