News
UNFPA/ICM launch new Midwifery Programme
A new programme to support midwifery in Ethiopia was launched on 5 May 2009 by UNFPA and the Internaitonal Confederation of Midwives (ICM) to mark the International Day of Midwives (IDM). The UNFPA/ICM Midwifery Programme will contribute to the achievement of two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): improving maternal health (MDG 5) and reducing neonatal mortality (MDG4).
Ethiopia becomes one of the 11 countries hardest-hit by maternal, neonatal and child death to launch this global initiative, joining Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ghana, Madagascar, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia and in beginning implementation. The three-year midwifery programme has a budget of 9 million USD provided by Netherlands and Sweden and will eventually reach 30 countries-more, if additional funding is secured.
Every year half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth and 10-15 million women suffer serious or long-lasting illnesses or injuries. In addition, three million babies are stillborn, and another three million newborns die during the first week of life. Many of these deaths and disabilities could be prevented if all births were attended by midwives.
It is estimated that skilled attendance at delivery, backed up by emergency obstetric care, could reduce the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth by about 75 percent. "Having a skilled professional at birth protects the life of the mother and the child by recognizing problems early, when the situation can still be controlled, and by intervening quickly," explained UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid. "The presence of a midwife at birth can mean the difference between life and death," Obaid went on to say.
The number of midwives must be increased to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 - three hundred and fifty thousand more midwives are needed worldwide by 2015. In Ethiopia, a country of close to 75 million people and only 1,200 midwives, the government plan to address maternal mortality includes scaling up the training of midwives and deploying them in rural areas to increase access to skilled care at birth.
In line with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda, the UNFPA/ICM programme will strengthen and sustain the midwifery workforce through education, the development of practice standards, and the development and strengthening of national midwifery associations. Addressing the shortage of skilled birth attendants and investing in sexual reproductive health and rights is critical to achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.
The new midwifery programme will be implemented in Ethiopia in collaboration with the Mekelle, Hawassa, Haromaya and Gondar Universities and Mekelle, Harari and Hawassa Health Science Colleges.
The International Day of Midwives is being celebrated this year worldwide for the 17th time.
