News

With COVID-19 heralding possible fertility changes, leaders must urgently support women’s rights and choices

08 July 2021
A mobile health clinic, supported by UNFPA and the Spotlight Initiative, brings critical family planning and other services to underserved parts of Mozambique. ©UNFPA Mozambique/Mbuto Machili
1
News

Partnering with traditional birth attendants to reach Afro-descendant and indigenous women in Colombia

06 July 2021
Traditional midwives are working with health systems to provide both modern and traditional care to expectant mothers. © UNFPA Colombia
1
News

As Afghanistan grapples with surge in COVID-19 cases, one midwife shares her strength

23 June 2021
Mastura Zia provides maternal health services to Afghan returnees, many of them deported from neighbouring Iran. © Zaeem Abdul Rahman/UNFPA Afghanistan
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News

After giving birth under a bridge amid hurricane wreckage, recovery remains a distant prospect for Honduran mother

03 June 2021
A pregnant woman receives care at a shelter in the aftermath of two devastating storms in Honduras. © UNFPA Honduras
1
News

Piloting drones to deliver life-saving products for women in rural Botswana

24 May 2021
Health staff and officials gather around the drone at Lecheng Clinic, one of the four health facilities chosen for the pilot project. © UNFPA Botswana
1
News

After childbirth trauma, Afghan women emerge from life in shadows

07 June 2016
Noorjahan laughs as she recovers from fistula surgery in Malalai Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Now, she says, "I can live." © Andrea Bruce/ NOOR
1
News

In crisis after crisis, mothers around the world are asked to do the impossible

05 May 2021
A new mother of twins is attended by maternal health nurse Ana Paula Francisco Adrade. Nurse Adrade says it has been challenging to get enough gloves and face masks to safely care for pregnant women. © UNFPA Mozambique
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Video

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 Report

May 5, 2021

The world is currently facing an acute shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.

News

Global shortage of 900,000 midwives threatens women’s lives and health, new report shows

04 May 2021
Midwives with a mobile team in Marib, Yemen, provide life-saving services in a displacement camp. © UNFPA Yemen
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Publications

The State of the World's Midwifery 2021

Number of pages: 80

Publication date: 05 May 2021

Author: UNFPA, WHO, ICM

EN

The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 builds on previous reports in the SoWMy series and represents an unprecedented effort to document the whole world’s Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce, with a particular focus on midwives. It calls for urgent investment in midwives to enable them to fulfil their potential to contribute towards UHC and the SDG agenda.

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