United Nations countries including Papua New Guinea have been called on to acclaim and reward midwifes in commemorating International Day of the Midwife.
Today (May 5 2016) marks International Day of the Midwife with the theme “Midwives: health heroes for women, adolescent girls and newborns!”
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) executive director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin in a statement said they’re committed to working with countries to strengthen midwifery skills and capacities.
Osotimehin said we must reward midwives who are working in challenging and hard-to-reach areas, where their services are most needed.
He said midwives are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the past 25 years, the world has almost halved maternal deaths, but every year, some 300,000 women still die during pregnancy and childbirth, and almost 3 million babies do not survive their first four weeks of life.
“A vast majority of these largely preventable deaths take place in developing and crisis-affected countries including PNG.
“If deployed in larger numbers, trained midwives could avert approximately two thirds of these deaths.
“Significant investments in midwifery are essential if the world is to achieve its ambitious goals of reducing maternal and newborn deaths,” Osotimehin said.
Picture courtesy of ABC News