Going viral’- capacity strengthening in the context of pandemic(s)

Strengthening the capacity of midwives and nurses in low- and middle-income countries to lead research is an urgent priority in embedding and sustaining evidence-based practice and better outcomes for women and newborns during childbearing. International and local travel restrictions

and physical distancing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has compromised the delivery of many existing programmes and challenged international partnerships working in maternal and newborn heath to adapt rapidly. In this paper, we share the experiences of a midwife-led research partnership between Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe in sustaining and enhancing capacity strengthening activities remotely in this period. Whilst considerable challenges arose, and not all were overcome, collectively we gained new insights and important learning which have shifted perspectives and will impact future design and delivery of learning programmes.

Keywords: Capacity-strengthening, midwifery, nursing, sub-Saharan Africa, COVID-19, global health