Curriculum Development for the South African Essential Steps in Managing Obstetric Emergencies (ESMOE) Anesthesiology Training Module: A Delphi Study

( Anesth Analg . 2024;139(6):1181–1189. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007019) The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) aims to reduce maternal deaths to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, but South Africa (SA) currently falls short of this target, with most maternal deaths occurring in district and regional hospitals. A significant factor contributing to these deaths is the shortage of specialist anesthesiologists in the public health care sector. As a result, the anesthetic workforce in these hospitals largely consists of nonspecialist, general practitioner junior doctors who often work with limited supervision. To address this issue, the Essential Steps in Managing Obstetric Emergencies (ESMOE) training program was introduced in 2008 for interns in an effort to reduce maternal mortality. However, the program has not been consistently offered at all training institutions, and its content has not been updated in recent years.