Ethiopian Review

By Yelibenwork Ayele

A new programme to support midwifery in Ethiopia was launched Tuesday by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) to mark the International Day of Midwives. The UNFPA/ICM midwifery program will contribute to the achievement of two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): improving maternal health and reducing neonatal mortality.

Ethiopia becomes one of the eleven 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 programme has a budget of 9 million dollars provided by Netherlands and Sweden and will eventually reach 30 countries.

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. Most 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.

In Ethiopia, a country of close to 75 million people and only 1,200 trained midwives, the government’s plan to address maternal mortality includes scaling up the education 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 program 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, according to experts.

The new midwifery programme will be implemented 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.

(Reporter)