Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)
2011 Midwifery Report
State of the World’s Midwifery Report 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives
State of the World's Midwifery Report: Delivering Health, Saving Lives
The role of skilled birth attendants – especially midwives – is widely acknowledged as being critical to addressing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. However, recent analyses show that both midwifery personnel and services are unequally distributed among countries and also within countries. The global report takes stock and documents the situation in countries with high maternal and newborn mortality. The report, released at the Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives in Durban, South Africa, is aimed at policy-makers and program managers, development and funding partners and all midwifery service providers.
The report provides new information and data gathered from 58 countries in all regions of the world, to:
- examine the number and distribution of health professionals involved in the delivery of midwifery services;
- explore emerging issues related to education, regulation, professional associations, policies and external aid;
- analyse global issues regarding health personnel with midwifery skills, most of whom are women, and the constraints and challenges that they face in their lives and work; and
- call for accelerating investments for scaling up midwifery services, as well as “skilling up” the respective providers.
The report includes statistical tables and applicable global standards, collating relevant midwifery information into one reference document. Behind The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011 stand 26 international partners involved in maternal and reproductive health, with a specific focus on midwifery, including ICM and PMNCH, and led by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).