Message of WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
WHO has designated 2021, the Year of the Health and Care Worker, and it is our great pleasure to join the International Confederation of Midwives, in celebrating the International Day of the Midwife on 5 May.
The theme for this year is “Follow the Data: Invest in Midwives” in preparation for the upcoming launch of the 2021 State of the World's Midwifery Report.
Midwives are critical to ensuring that women have healthy pregnancies, that babies are delivered safely, and that newborns thrive.
Yet too few women have access to the care provided by midwives. A recent modelling study suggests that 95% coverage of midwife-delivered interventions could avert 67% of maternal deaths, 65% of stillbirths and 64% of neonatal deaths, thereby saving 4.3 million lives annually by 2035.
A significant proportion of the lives saved would be in sub-Saharan Africa, which presently accounts for an estimated 200,000 maternal deaths and one million babies dying in the first four weeks of life every year.
This is a tragic situation that calls for action to expand the coverage of midwifery services.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are continuing to see disruptions to essential services provided by midwives and other health workers. Service availability is being affected by repurposing of health workers, including midwives, to the COVID-19 response, absenteeism due to COVID-19 infection, and fears of contracting the virus in health facilities.
When midwives are repurposed to outbreak response operations, women and children face heightened barriers to accessing needed care. To avoid this, we ask that countries put resources towards creating environments where midwives can continue to care for their patients, even during times of crisis.
Over 90% of midwives are women and often they confront challenges related to gender inequality. To address this, attention is needed to make sure the voices of midwives are heard and integrated in policy-making, that they are protected from abuse and harassment in the workplace, and that their professional contributions are recognized and valued.
In the African Region, as WHO we are working with countries and partners to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care, and to strengthen nursing and midwifery education, continuing professional development, and regulation. We are also advocating for policies to address sexual harassment and promote occupational safety, towards creating conducive working environments for midwives and other health workers.
So today, on the International Day of the Midwife, I urge governments, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and partners to invest in midwives to save lives and improve the well-being of pregnant women, mothers and newborns.
I want to appreciate and congratulate all midwives for the contributions they make every day to the well-being of women and to bringing new lives safely into the world.
Learn more:
- International Day of the Midwife 2021 – Advocacy Toolkit and Resource Pack
- Investing in midwife-led interventions could save 4.3 million lives per year, new study finds (WHO, 3 December 2020)
- Potential impact of midwives in preventing and reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and stillbirths: a Lives Saved Tool modelling study
- Gender and COVID-19: Advocacy brief (WHO, May 2020)
- Four-year, integrated nursing and midwifery competency-based, prototype curriculum for the African Region 2016 (WHO Regional Office for Africa, 2016)
- Three-year regional prototype pre-service competency-based nursing curriculum (WHO Regional Office for Africa, 2016)
- The regional professional regulatory framework for nursing and midwifery: creating a common approach to regulation, educational preparation and practice: future direction for nursing & midwifery development in the African region (WHO Regional Office for Africa, 2016)