The RCN Mission Hospital Makurdi, in strategic partnership with United Vessels of Love (U-VOL), has successfully concluded the 2025 ValueHer Initiative Training, a two-day, high-intensity, hands-on programme designed to equip frontline maternal-health workers with the skills and confidence needed to save the lives of mothers and newborns across Benue State and beyond.
Held from 11th–12th November 2025 at RCN Missions Hospital, Makurdi, the training brought together nurses, midwives, community birth attendants, and early-career clinicians for a deeply practical immersion in safe delivery practices, emergency obstetric care, and evidence-based maternal mortality reduction strategies.
This year’s edition was uniquely rich, featuring:
a.Enhanced OSCE-style (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) skill stations
Participants rotated through structured, competency-based stations to demonstrate real-time proficiency in critical procedures.
b.Hands-on simulations using mannequins, delivery kits, emergency postpartum haemorrhage drills, neonatal resuscitation practice, and management of obstructed labour.
c.Clinical decision-making workshops on triage, early warning signs, referral pathways, and use of the partograph.
d.Demonstrations with the new digital ultrasound unit, improving skills in early pregnancy assessment, placental localisation, fetal well-being evaluation, and safe obstetric decision-making.
e.Direct Relief emergency medical backpacks training, enhancing emergency response capacity during community outreaches and maternal emergencies.
The ValueHer Initiative is a deliberate intervention aimed at tackling the unacceptable indices of:
i.Maternal mortality and morbidity,
ii.Preventable intrapartum complications,
iii.Sepsis,
iv.Hypertensive emergencies, and
v.Perinatal asphyxia.
By empowering healthcare workers with up-to-date practical skills, the programme strengthens the entire continuum of maternal care from home-based detection to facility-based management and emergency preparedness.
The impact of this training will ripple across communities as participants return to their stations better equipped, more confident, and more resolute in safeguarding the lives of mothers and babies.
Together, RCN Medical Missions and U-VOL Foundation reaffirm their dedication to strengthening maternal health systems, promoting safe delivery, and ensuring that no woman dies while giving life.
