Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita on International Day of the Midwife (5 May)

One million: That’s how many more midwives the world needs by 2035 to save over 4 million lives every year. 

Midwives are essential health workers, and they offer a solution to one of the most urgent challenges in global health: preventing women and newborns from dying needlessly from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

With a midwife by her side, a woman giving birth has a far better chance of a safe delivery, and of her baby surviving it. Especially in places affected by fragility and crisis, where women and newborns are most at risk, midwives are often the first and only providers of maternal healthcare. Half the current gap in this crucial workforce is in Africa, where maternal death rates are among the highest in the world.

Educating, deploying and retaining 1 million more midwives would transform health systems and improve millions of lives. Midwives are at the heart of safer, more equitable healthcare that upholds women’s rights. They have the comprehensive skills and training to provide the bulk of essential sexual and reproductive health services, and many other forms of care that help ensure women’s overall well-being. 

Midwives can provide family planning, skilled birth attendance and critical care during pregnancy and after childbirth. They can also provide nutrition counselling, cancer screenings, and meet other diverse healthcare needs.

These gains ripple outward. Every $1 invested in midwifery yields up to $16 in social and economic gains – a smart and cost-effective strategy to expand healthcare and improve development outcomes. Midwifery is the backbone of healthy and resilient societies where women and communities can thrive.

Through the Midwifery Accelerator coalition, UNFPA is supporting multiple countries in developing evidence-based investment cases to promote midwifery models of care tailored to local contexts. 

Midwives play an invaluable role in health systems. Strengthening investment in this mostly female workforce – through fair compensation and equitable career development opportunities – can help realize their full potential and enhance the quality of care that they can provide. 

This International Day of the Midwife, we celebrate midwives as the backbone of health systems, and call for urgent investment in their education, leadership, and protection - essential actions if we are to expand the midwifery workforce by 1 million. And we urge for greater use of innovative technologies and diagnostic tools that can strengthen their skills and decision-making so they can deliver safer, more effective care.

Empowered midwives offer care that saves and improves lives. Let’s champion and support midwives for every woman who wants one, and for a healthier world for all.