Midwifes holds key for maternal mortality reduction, UNFPA representative says

Sana'a May 6

 On the occasion of the annual International Day of the Midwife, the Yemeni Midwives’ Association organized a workshop on May 6th on the theme: "healthy women, healthy children, and healthy society".

 In the opening ceremony, Dr. Jamilah Al-Raeibi, Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population, saluted midwifes all around the world, and especially in Yemen, for the important role they perform in the health field and in counseling for women and families.  She called for further concentration on training and on qualifying more skilled midwives, and focused on this issue as a current priority for the profession. In relation to the importance of midwifes' employment, Al-Raeibi pointed out the importance of advocating for this essential issue, since its related decision-making will be from more than one area.

The representative of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, Mr. Hans Obdeijn, then gave a tribute to the work of midwives on the part of UNFPA. He emphasized that that the work of midwives in Yemen for the health and lives of women and infants is often performed under difficult conditions and made a call for increased investments to train and retain midwives especially in the rural areas where they are desperately needed.

 "Every year 365 women die - per 100,000 live births - in Yemen from complications of pregnancy and childbirth," Obdeijn said. "We can save these Yemeni women by getting midwives in their communities," he added.

 "There is an immediate need for at least 5,000 midwives in Yemen out of the total need approximately 20,000," Obdeijn announced. "According to recent study findings conducted in five Yemeni governorates and another in Sana'a city, there is approximately one midwife for every 12,000 women in these governorates and in Sana'a one for every 900", he added.

 In the meantime, UNFPA used this occasion to ask the Yemeni government, the private sector, and NGOs for greater investment in the training, recruitment, pay and working conditions of midwives to provide universal access to skilled care at birth. "By investing in midwives, governments can achieve universal access to reproductive health and attain the fifth Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health," Obdeijn stated.

 He argued that when midwifes are properly trained, skilled, empowered and supported, this health cadre offers the most cost-effective and the highest-quality path to maternal and newborn health. "Midwives also provide family planning services and help to meet the currently high unmet need in Yemen, especially in communities which do not have any health facilities. They offer reproductive health information and services, including promotion for family planning, which allows women to space their next birth, as an urgent priority."

 Obdeijn confirmed UNFPA support to the Ministry of Public Health and Population’s stand in ensuring that midwifes are given a more important role in health service provision, both in the public and private sector. It also supports other initiatives such as integrating Yemeni midwifes into the Best Practices Training Programme currently being undertaken by the National Safe Motherhood Alliance.

 "We are here today not only to celebrate but also to see how the community of development partners can help our Yemeni counterparts to attain new and innovative solutions. Today’s workshop gives us new hope and encouragement,” Obdeijn concluded.

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