From a young age, Anastasie has been passionate about joining the health profession. Beginning her career at Hakika General Hospital in DRC’s Ruashi Health Zone, she became Director of Nursing, where she oversaw family planning services. In 2005, she joined the National Reproductive Health Program, where she received training in reproductive health and family planning, allowing her to be a clinical provider and national provincial trainer. She currently works in the maternity ward of Sendwe Provincial Hospital in Lubumbashi, focusing on family planning activities. In this role, she supervises and coaches health care providers, including those who work at hospitals, health centers, and in communities. 

What investments have been made by governments and donors in the health workforce that have helped you to do your job?

Donors have invested heavily in health personnel at both the national and provincial levels. Thanks to their support, we have benefited from quality training that has improved our performance. These donors have also contributed a lot to strengthening the capacity of health centers, including investments in medical equipment and various contraceptive methods to ensure the continuity of family planning and maternal and newborn health services.

What investments still need to be made?

In our province of Haut-Katanga in Democratic Republic of the Congo, we need to scale up community-based distribution—specifically, the training of community-based distributors in the health areas where the needs of thousands of people are still unmet. The government and its partners must also invest in the promotion of prenatal consultations. All pregnant women can benefit from at least four prenatal consultation visits and giving birth in a health facility with the help of qualified health personnel.

How do you see your career developing over the next few years, and how can government investments help you to reach your goals?

I am very happy with what I have accomplished so far. My journey in the field of reproductive health has allowed me to save lives and enable women in my province to flourish.

I am currently participating in advocacy visits to request more investments from the government and technical and financial partners in reproductive health and maternal and newborn health. Public investments help us to achieve our goals by giving us the means to do our work and strengthen our capacities at any time.

What advice would you give to people who want to pursue a career in sexual and reproductive health care?

I encourage anyone who wants to do sexual and reproductive health work because there is still a huge unmet need. Sexual and reproductive health brings smiles to families, to the community, and to the whole country. To reduce maternal mortality, many of us must work in sexual and reproductive health.

What is the proudest moment in your career? Can you tell us a short story about someone you’ve helped?

I am always proud when, after a discussion with a couple about the benefits of family planning or any other topic, I can convince them to adopt family planning, request a service such as an antenatal consultation, or to agree to give birth at a health facility. One of the experiences that really touched me was during a home visit. I met a woman with six children who was having a lot of financial difficulties. She could not work because of her closely spaced pregnancies. Among her children, only three were in school because she could not afford to send them all. After several visits to her home and discussions with her husband, she finally agreed to family planning and received a long-acting method. After only a few years, she was able to develop a small chicken farm that generates profits and provides meat for the family. Today, all six children are in school, and her husband has become a positive deviant who educates other men, especially newlyweds, about family planning and reproductive health in general. I have even become a friend and counselor to this family.

Marie M’Po Bazie
Head of the La Grâce, Non-governmental Health Center

Burkina Faso

For 44 years, Marie has been a health worker. She became committed to the health profession when she was a teenager, her mother was very sick, and a doctor was able to help her. Although she retired seven years ago, in her retirement, she created the health center, La Grace, to continue to help women. Each day, providers at La Grace deliver babies and provide essential sexual and reproductive health care to women.

What investments have been made by governments and donors in the health workforce that have helped you to do your job?

The government helps us with administrative materials such as registers and provides supervision. There is a lot of interaction between us and the health district. Pathfinder has provided us with medical and technical equipment and has trained our staff in several useful family planning techniques. Before, we had to refer some clients to better equipped health facilities because we had neither the equipment nor the training at La Grace. With Pathfinder’s support today, the number of referrals has dropped significantly.

What investments still need to be made?

We continue to ask for technical and material support to help us take on more patients. We also need regular refresher trainings to do better in our day-to-day work.

How do you see your career developing over the next few years, and how can government investments help you to reach your goals?”

At La Grace, we are in discussion with the Ministry of Health to become recognized as a semi-private health structure in order to benefit from regular refresher trainings for our staff. There are many challenges in integrating trained health care workers into the public health system.  We hope that it has the means to achieve this massive integration, which will greatly strengthen the health system.

What is the proudest moment in your career? Can you tell us a short story about someone you’ve helped?

I am proud of my journey, having helped hundreds of women over the years. It is a real blessing.

I’m even prouder that I was able to help my mother get through her illness. This is priceless. Many women have been able to give birth to children because of my advice. Some had lost all hope but with my advice and care they were able to have children. Many come back to me to say thank you. This recognition is invaluable.

Safiata Tiemtore Tiendrebeogo
Midwife and Head of the Maternity Ward, Al-Haira Islamic Medical Center

Burkina Faso

As a young child, Safiata wanted to be a health care worker and serve others. After finishing graduate school, she officially joined the health field. She is happy she did, telling us,

Even when I’m unhappy and I get to work, when I’m helping a woman give birth, I forget my worries at least for a while.

She currently serves an average of 10 to 15 clients per day with sexual and reproductive health care.

What investments have been made by governments and donors in the health workforce that have helped you to do your job?

The government is very supportive. It allows organizations like Pathfinder to help us with development and equipment. Since the government does not include private health centers in all its programs, for me, it is an important point to allow other organizations to do so. Today, Pathfinder’s support makes my work as a health worker much easier.

What investments still need to be made?

In my daily work, I always need to learn new work techniques because science is evolving. So, there is a need for continued trainings. We also need to have state-of-the-art equipment to better care for our patients and make our work easier.

How do you see your career developing over the next few years, and how can government investments help you to reach your goals?

In the next few years, I would like to specialize in gynecology. It is a passion, and I still have a lot to learn and give. It will help me a lot to have a grant from the government as scholarship for studies. I thank Pathfinder who is already working on the continuous training of health workers like me, allowing us to improve ourselves frequently. With the support and will of all, I have faith that the future will be better.

What is the proudest moment in your career? Can you tell us a short story about someone you’ve helped?

In 2022, I went to the market one morning to do some shopping. I heard a woman yelling, “Madam, madam!” Surprised, I turned around and it was me she was talking to, but I didn’t know her. She insisted and reminded me how I helped her deliver her child, and noted the professionalism with which she was treated. It is heartwarming to be called out in public and receive such recognition for one’s work. For me, there is no moral satisfaction that exceeds that. This testimony encourages me to continue to help more women with pleasure and professionalism. I feel the constant need to be of service to those who need my services.

Nassirou Napon
Chief Nurse, La Grâce, Non-governmental Health Center

Burkina Faso

Nassirou’s older brother encouraged him to be a health worker. He chose reproductive health to help his mother, who is also a health worker at La Grace Health Center. He said he has learned a lot about sexual and reproductive health from his mother and Pathfinder trainings. He is currently a nurse, playing several roles at the health center, including a coordination role for the maternity ward. He sees an average of 15 patients a day.

What investments have been made by governments and donors in the health workforce that have helped you to do your job?

As far as the government is concerned, the Ministry of Health has contributed a lot to improving the quality of our data. For example, it is the health district that provides us with the consultation registers, and it is there that we file our reports.

In addition, as a health worker, I did my training at the public school. I can therefore say that it is thanks to this public support that I am a health worker today.

As far as private partners are concerned, it is only Pathfinder that helps us with our training and equipment. I have been able to perform well thanks to this important support from Pathfinder.

What investments still need to be made?

What we would like to see in terms of support today is, first, that the Ministry of Health continue to keep an eye on the non-governmental health structures through supervision and control to guide us. In addition, we also hope that the government will invest in the acquisition of medical and technical equipment and the training of health care workers to help us work better.

How do you see your career developing over the next few years, and how can government investments help you to reach your goals?

My first ambition today is to do my best to join the public service. This will allow me to be useful to more people in my work. Secondly, I would like to specialize in a field of health, such as surgery or pediatrics. This is one of the reasons why I want to enter the public service where I will have more opportunities to achieve these career goals. Otherwise, it would be nice if the Ministry of Health would integrate more non-governmental health facilities into its overall strategy to allow their health workers to take advantage of certain training opportunities.

What is the proudest moment in your career? Can you tell us a short story about someone you’ve helped?

One day, a woman came to the dispensary with her child. She had been to several health centers, but the child’s condition was not improving. An acquaintance told her to come to our health center. I took charge of the child and after a few days, he recovered. I soon forgot about this episode, as I was just doing my job. One day, while riding a motorcycle with a friend, we had a flat tire. Once at the repair shop, a woman stopped me and thanked me for healing her child. I couldn’t remember what had happened, but she reminded me. It is a very proud moment to be in a place and receive such a testimony when you least expect it.