maternal and child health

All communities deserve to have access to locally trained and supported health workers. Key to achieving this goal is greater inclusion of midwives in decision-making roles in the national government, because unless midwives voices are represented at that level, policymaking decisions and priorities risk being misaligned with the needs on the ground.

May 5th marks two important global advocacy days — Hand Hygiene Day and International Day of the Midwife. This year’s Hand Hygiene Day campaign focuses on the prevention of sepsis, and International Day of the Midwife celebrates midwives leading the way with quality care.

Vietnam, like many low- or middle-income countries, showed improvement in maternal and newborn mortality during the era of the Millennium Development Goals, but a gap remains between disadvantaged groups and more privileged groups. Poverty, education, language and geography are among the many barriers to health care.

Tanzania continues to face a severe shortage of frontline health workers like doctors, nurse midwives and assistant medical officers. Touch’s Treat & Train program tackles this gap in Tanzania’s health system.

By Lindsey Freeze, IntraHealth International This post originally appeared on Vital, IntraHealth International's blog. Veronica Munges, 19, holds her newborn hours after his birth at Nadunget Health Center III in Moroto, Uganda. Photos by Tommy Trenchard for IntraHealth International. Jane Atim...

By Mtondera Munthali for White Ribbon Alliance I am Mtondera Munthali, a midwife from Mzuzu city in the north of Malawi. My job is a very busy one. I’m in charge of the labor ward where 15 to 20 babies are born every day. I’m responsible for making sure there are enough midwives with enough...

By Nancy Kamwendo, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Malawi Midwives everywhere understand that by working in partnership with women and their families they can support them to make better decisions to have a safe and fulfilling birth. Today, May 5, the world commemorates their day – the...

By Gillian Leitch, Jhpiego Uganda At the 2017 Nurses and Midwives Symposium in Kampala, Uganda, I had the opportunity to speak with Venny Musasizi, an inspiring midwife working in one of the hardest to reach districts in Uganda. The symposium was co-hosted by Jhpiego, Seed Global Health, Peace Corps...

Every year, on International Women’s Day, the global health community takes the opportunity to celebrate the progress made for gender equality and women’s health and rights around the world.

by Shafia Rashid, Management Sciences for Health. This blog was originally posted on Rights and Realities, the FCI Program of MSH. In Senegal, approximately 1,800 women lose their lives every year while giving birth. The major cause of these deaths is uncontrolled bleeding after childbirth, or...