But despite their critical role, UN support for midwifery is under serious threat due to severe funding cuts.
Each year, three-quarters of all maternal deaths occur in just 25 countries, the majority of them located in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, according to the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA.
Midwives are often the first and only responders delivering life-saving care to pregnant women and their newborns in crisis settings, where the risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth doubles.
Funding cuts are now forcing UNFPA to scale back its support for midwifery. In eight of the affected countries the agency will only be able to fund 47 per cent of the 3,521 midwives it had intended to support in 2025.
On the frontline
In times of crisis, women often lose critical access to vital maternity services. Coming to the rescue in the direst of circumstances and serving as a lifeline to pregnant women, “midwives save lives,” said Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA.
UN support for midwives in humanitarian settings includes training, providing supplies and equipment and in some cases transportation for mobile health clinics. All this is having to be cut back amid the funding cuts.
“When crises strike and systems break down, midwives step up,” said UNFPA, marking International Day of the Midwife.
Funding cuts
Amid a global shortage of nearly one million midwives, rising death rates among women and newborns in conflict zones and fragile contexts are now being reported following budget cuts.
“We’re lacking everything, from blood bags to medicines. With the support of UNFPA and other partners, we can still provide services – but for how long?” said Fabrice Bishenge, Director of Kyeshero General Hospital in eastern DR Congo.
Deaths during childbirth in fragile and conflict-affected settings now account for 60 per cent of all maternal deaths globally. Worldwide, deep funding cuts only exacerbate this trend. In Yemen, for instance, over 590,000 women of childbearing age are expected to lose access to a midwife.
The waiting room of a maternity hospital in Herat Province, Afghanistan.
New initiative
In light of the current funding crisis, UNFPA and partners recently launched the Global Midwifery Accelerator — a coordinated initiative to scale up midwife-led care in countries with the highest maternal mortality rates.
The initiative sets out a cost-effective roadmap focused on saving lives and strengthening national health systems, even in the most fragile contexts.
Making an urgent call for greater funding, training, and advocacy for midwifery, UNFPA stressed that universal midwife-led health coverage could avert two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths, reduce healthcare costs, and lead to more productive workforces.