Wibangbe: The making of a documentary about the training and supervision of traditional birth attendants in zaire

During the 1980s in Karawa Northwestern Zaire a motion picture was produced which showed the interaction of the modern and traditional systems. The maternity center of the Karawa hospital was central to this effort. Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) became leading participants. Locally trained midwives were key trainers. The training and supervision programs had been ongoing for 2 years when Karawa was chosen as the movie site in 1986. The script was written by a midwife who had trained trainers of TBAs and TBAs themselves. All the steps in the selection training supervision and supplying of TBAs in Karawa and its neighboring villages are included in the script. A Zairian team shot the script. The 5-member crew were employees of the Office Zairois de la Radio-Television (OZRT) the countrys official television radio and film service. "Wibange" has separate sound tracks in French and English. Costs of the movie were met by contributions from both the US Agency for International Development and from Zaire. "Wibange--Traditional Birth Attendants: Their Training and Supervision" was developed in New York City. There are 2 final productions a French and an English version. Running time is 23 minutes.