The governments of Bangladesh and Sweden, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the role of midwives in primary healthcare and expanding access to quality sexual and reproductive health, as well as maternal and newborn care.
The commitment was made at an event on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly titled “From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths.”
The event also highlighted Bangladesh’s recent commitment to creating 25,000 midwifery posts as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s health workforce and reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The discussions brought together Prime Minister Tarique Rahman; First Lady of Bangladesh Dr Zubaida Rahman; cardiologist and vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation; Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard; and senior representatives from UN agencies, civil society organisations, and development partners.
Participants shared experiences on midwifery education, deployment, governance and financing and explored opportunities for sustained investment in the health workforce.
“Every woman should have access to a skilled professional midwife as part of her primary healthcare team, close to where she lives. For Bangladesh, this means deploying midwives nationwide, strengthening communities, health services and referral pathways, and connecting citizens through a modern digital health system,” Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said.
“Together these steps will help us build a healthy, thriving Bangladesh, and this is how we move from commitment to action,” he added.
Placing qualified midwives within primary healthcare teams can expand access to essential sexual and reproductive health services and help reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths, particularly when supported by effective referral systems, adequate resources and enabling policies.
Sweden reaffirmed its commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights and strengthening health systems and the health workforce.
“Investing in midwives is not only an investment in health. It is an investment in dignity, equality, opportunity and our common future. It means safer pregnancies. Safer births. More mothers and newborns surviving and thriving. Midwives save lives. Let’s continue to invest in them,” Malmer Stenergard said.
UNFPA welcomed Bangladesh’s commitment to creating and deploying 25,000 professional midwifery posts across its primary healthcare system.
Bangladesh is a champion of the UNFPA Midwifery Accelerator initiative, which seeks to strengthen political commitment and investment in midwifery. More than 50 countries have joined the initiative and developed Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plans, with several coordinating priority actions through 2030.
“Midwives bring hope, life and vital care to women when they need it most. Amid a critical global health worker shortage, Bangladesh’s investment in midwives is an investment in humanity,” UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita said.
“When we equip and empower these frontline heroes, we build a safer, healthier world for every mother and child,” she added.
Countries participating in the event, including Midwifery Accelerator members Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Thailand, shared commitments and actions to strengthen midwifery and primary healthcare.
Sierra Leone announced plans to recruit 3,000 additional midwives by 2030. Ethiopia highlighted plans to strengthen the role of midwives within its healthcare extension system, while Nepal underscored the importance of strengthening frontline health workers as part of efforts to build climate-resilient health systems.
Development, philanthropic and private-sector partners, including the United Kingdom, the Gates Foundation and Laerdal Global Health, also highlighted the need to accelerate global midwifery coverage.
The participants reaffirmed their commitment to investing in midwives by strengthening regulatory frameworks, increasing funding for midwifery infrastructure, improving education and deployment, retaining midwives through high-quality standards and safe workplaces, and promoting midwife leadership within health ministries and women’s participation in health governance.