News and Events
International Day of the Midwife
The presence of a trained midwife at birth can mean the difference between life and death.
New York, Kathmandu, 5 May 2009
In Nepal one woman dies every four hours from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. And the presence of a midwife could save many of them. 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.
In 2008, UNFPA launched globally a new initiative with the International Confederation of Midwives to tackle the severe shortage of midwives in more than 30 developing countries. An additional 350,000 midwives are needed to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality and combat HIV. Addressing this shortage is also critical to achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.
In Nepal, Ministry of Health and Population/GON has developed and endorsed the National Skilled Birth Attendants policy in July 2006 as a part of the overall strategy to reduce the maternal death by 75% (from 539/100,000 Live Births in 2001 to 114/100,000 Live Births in 2015). As per this policy, which is a part of the National Safe Motherhood Programme, 60% of deliveries should be assisted by Skill Birth Attendants (SBAs) by 2015. The percentage of deliveries by Skilled Birth Attendants has doubled from 9 per cent in 1996 to 19 per cent in 2006, as per the National Demographic and Health Survey, 2006 (Ministry of Health and Population). In 2007, with support from UNFPA and other external development partners, the training of Skilled Birth Attendants started and till date altogether 900 health service providers (nurses and medical officers) have been trained as SBAs.
Today, on the International Day of the Midwife, UNFPA ensures its continuous support and urges the government, external development partners, NGOs, private sector and professional societies to continue the joint efforts to increase the number of deliveries assisted by Skilled Birth Attendants.
For more information on UNFPA's support to improve maternal health, contact Anna Adhikari, Communications Consultant, UNFPA,
adhikari@unfpa.org
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