UNFPA: A Global Call to Action
Expanded midwifery services could save millions of lives
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) State of the World’s Midwifery Report, Up to 3.6 million deaths could be avoided each year in 58 developing countries if midwifery services are upgraded.
The study, The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011, estimates that an additional 112,000 midwives need to be deployed in 38 countries to meet their target to achieve 95 per cent coverage of births by skilled attendants by 2015, as required under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Globally, 350,000 midwives are still lacking, it says.
The report, launched at the Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Durban, South Africa, says if adequate facilities were accessible to deal with complications at their onset, many deaths could be averted: 61 per cent of all maternal deaths; 49 per cent of all stillbirths; and three in every five newborn deaths.
The report adds that if midwives are in place and can refer the most severe complications to specialized care, up to 90 per cent of maternal deaths could be prevented.
“Ensuring that every woman and her newborn have access to quality midwifery services demands that we take bold steps to build on what we have achieved so far across communities, countries, regions and the world,” said Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his foreword to the report.
Each year, 358,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth, some two million newborns die within the first 24 hours of life and there are 2.6 million stillbirths, it says.
“The report points to an urgent need to train more health workers with midwifery skills and ensure equitable access to their life-saving services in communities to improve the health of women and children,” said Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA.
UNFPA supports midwifery training programs in 30 countries, including, for example, some 18 schools in Ethiopia. A UNFPA official said the agency will integrate the report’s findings in its current curricula and plans an expansion of UN midwifery training programs.
The report, a result of collaboration among 30 partners, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), surveyed 58 countries, which together account for just under 60 per cent of births worldwide and yet 91 per cent of all maternal deaths.
Among the 38 countries most desperately in need of midwives, 22 need to double the workforce by 2015; seven need to triple or quadruple it; and nine – Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan – need to dramatically scale up midwifery by a factor of between six and 15, it says.
Strengthen Midwifery to Save Lives
According to a statement released at the Women Deliver World’s Symposium, up to 90 per cent of maternal deaths can be prevented when midwives and personnel with midwifery skills are authorized and supported by the health system to practice their full set of competencies, including basic emergency obstetric and newborn care. In addition midwives improve the sexual and reproductive health of individuals and couples, including adolescents, by providing family planning services and counseling, and HIV prevention, including the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 350,000 midwives are needed to fill the gaps in high-mortality countries by 2015.
Read the Full Midwifery Symposium Statement
Answering the Call for Midwives
The world needs more midwives. Our Global Midwife Training Advanced Internships, Midwifery Intensives and 3-Year Midwifery School provide a challenging learning environment intended to train midwives who will be equipped to provide high-quality maternity care in a variety of settings. But we do more than just train midwives. Our service learning model is designed to influence the way student midwives see themselves and their role in the communities they serve, and to develop the skills necessary to become the future leaders of positive change in maternity care. Apply Now.
Learn More
Take a look at our unique approach to midwifery education and international clinical experience. Find out how we integrate service learning into our methodology. Learn more about midwife certification and the Midwives Model of Care, or how our programs can help you to become a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through NARM. Read inspiring stories about how to become a midwife on our weekly blog. Learn about the state of maternal health worldwide. Share the UNFPA “Call to Action” with your network.
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