In the remote, arid Sahel region in northern Burkina Faso, women and their newborns are much more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than are women in other parts of the country. The majority of women — particularly in the Sahel's hundreds of small, semi-nomadic villages — still give birth at home without the help of a skilled birth attendant. The FCI Program of MSH works to increase women's access to skilled birth attendance and to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in the Sahel and northern regions of Burkina Faso by strengthening the technical skills of maternal and newborn health care providers, including midwives.

Through the project Strengthening the Capacity of Midwives in Burkina Faso, with support from Johnson & Johnson, the FCI Program of MSH works with the Ministry of Health, schools of public health, and three national midwifery associations to adapt midwifery training modules to national norms and protocols, and to specific health and contextual needs in the Sahel and northern regions. The FCI Program of MSH educates maternal and newborn health expert trainers on adapted training modules and works with them to strengthen their skills in participatory facilitation methods. With continuing support from the FCI Program of MSH, these maternal and newborn health experts provide in-service training, ongoing mentorship, and supportive supervision to mid-level providers; national midwifery associations share and consolidate lessons from their practice and trainings. The FCI Program of MSH advocates for stronger political commitment of regional health teams in the Sahel and northern regions to engage in and sustain supportive supervision of mid-level providers, including midwives.