Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Sunday signed a grant agreement for a programme titled ‘Strengthening the National Midwifery Programme (SNMP)’.
The UK grant, through UNFPA, will support the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of Bangladesh, to produce competent midwives in Bangladesh.
The objective of the programme is to improve the quality of midwifery education and create an enabling environment for the provision of a midwifery-led continuum of care for pregnant women and their babies in Bangladesh.
Through this programme UNFPA will work closely with the Directorate of Nursing, MoHFW, and will contribute to achieving the agreed principles of quality, equity and efficiency of the up-coming 4th health sector programme of the MoHFW.
With nearly 6,000 women still dying annually due to preventable, pregnancy related causes, the need for skilled midwives in Bangladesh is more important than ever.
The establishment of the midwifery profession in Bangladesh is rooted in the commitment made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 as part of the UN Secretary General’s Every Woman, Every Child Initiative.
In terms of maternal health, global evidence shows that midwives deliver the most cost-effective interventions and are able to avert at least 30% of maternal deaths. The Government of Bangladesh has therefore prioritized quality education and deployment of midwives to upazila and union level health facilities.
UNFPA representative Ms. Argentina Matavel Piccin described the programme as a turning point in the fight for reduction of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in Bangladesh.
“By the end of this programme, Bangladesh will have midwives educated and trained to international standards and posted in the areas with greatest needs where they will provide the highest quality professional care.”
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
