Chinomnso Traffina Ibe

Born on June 24, 1983, Chinomnso developed an early interest in maternal health during her training at the Midwifery Training School. Her professional journey began with eight years of clinical and public health experience, during which she had a chance to closely observe maternal and child health programs in Nigeria. As a certified midwife and nurse, Chinomnso has gained a deep understanding of the health challenges that pregnant women face, particularly in rural and low-income areas where access to healthcare services is limited. She wanted to help them, which resulted in the one of her most notable achievements—the creation of the Traffina Foundation in 2007.

The foundation’s primary mission is to promote maternal and child health by providing essential resources to women who lack access to adequate medical care. One of its flagship initiatives is the production and distribution of free clean-delivery kits. These kits contain things necessary for safe childbirth and are instrumental in preventing infections during delivery, which is a major cause of maternal and infant mortality in rural Nigeria.

In addition to her work with the Traffina Foundation, Chinomnso has been involved in several national and international programs aimed at improving maternal health. She was selected for the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in 2015, an opportunity that allowed her to engage in a six-week intensive fellowship at Wagner College. This experience further honed her leadership skills and expanded her network of collaborators, allowing her to bring more visibility to maternal health issues in Nigeria.

“My passion is to provide support to women and to make childbirth—one of the most sacred acts—a clean and safe experience for all mothers and babies, irrespective of economic status.”

Chinomnso’s expertise is not limited to midwifery; she is also working towards an Advanced master’s in public health and has a wealth of experience in public health advocacy. Her commitment to maternal and child health extends beyond providing medical supplies and education. She has worked on programs aimed at involving men in maternal health care, recognizing the critical role that fathers and male family members play in supporting pregnant women. In Bwari Area Council in Abuja, she organized the first community mobilization and conference focused on male involvement in maternal health. This initiative encouraged men to attend antenatal visits with their wives, fostering greater family involvement in the health and well-being of mothers and their newborns.

Chinomnso’s leadership and innovation extend to the use of mobile health technology. Recognizing the potential of technology to improve healthcare access, she established a program that tracks pregnant women from their initial antenatal registration through to six weeks postpartum. The women in the program receive SMS reminders about their upcoming antenatal appointments, as well as critical information about healthy pregnancy practices and signs of labor. This initiative has helped numerous women deliver their babies in hospitals for the first time, significantly reducing complications and improving maternal outcomes.

Her commitment to maternal health has been recognized on both national and international platforms. As one of the ten Maternal Health Young Champion Fellows, an initiative of the Maternal Health Task Force at Harvard School of Public Health and the Institute of International Education, she has championed projects that provide life-saving interventions for women in rural Nigeria.

Chinomnso’s work has not been without challenges, particularly in terms of funding. Much of her early work was self-funded, with additional support coming from individual donations. Despite the financial obstacles, Chinomnso remains committed to expanding the reach of her foundation. She envisions setting up regional offices of the Traffina Foundation in each zone of Nigeria to ensure that more women, particularly those in remote and underserved communities, have access to essential maternal health services.

“Many people think it’s only the government’s duty to help a woman to survive in childbirth. But I am working to change that.”

Through her foundation, Chinomnso has also been at the forefront of capacity building for healthcare workers, offering training to traditional birth attendants and other healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care provided to mothers and newborns. Her efforts in advocacy, education, and service delivery are transforming the landscape of maternal and child health in Nigeria, creating safer childbirth experiences and reducing the incidence of maternal and infant mortality.

The information on this page was last updated on 10/04/2024 and was provided by the Luminary.