By Muhammad Amaan
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, has commended the lifesaving work of midwives across Africa, describing them as the frontline guardians of maternal and newborn health.
In a message to commemorate the International Day of Midwife on Monday, Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu Ihekweazu stated that midwives were critical actors in every health crisis and decried the 6.1million health worker shortfall.
The 2025 theme is “Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis.”
He decried the maternal and newborn death rates in the region, further emphasising that the efforts of midwives have been important in reducing maternal mortality.
The WHO noted that over one million newborns and 178,000 mothers die every year in the region.
While South Sudan accounts for the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, Nigeria ranks third with 512 deaths and 100,000 live births.
In a message on the WHO website, Dr Ihekweazu said, “Aligned with the momentum of World Health Day 2025 and its theme, Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures, this year’s celebration calls for greater recognition and investment in midwives, the people who make healthy beginnings possible.
“In the African Region, where over one million newborns and 178,000 mothers die each year, midwives are a lifeline. They deliver skilled, compassionate care across the entire continuum of reproductive and maternal health, often in the most difficult and resource-limited settings.
“Their efforts have been pivotal in reducing maternal mortality, with the regional average dropping from 727 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000, to 442 in 2023.”
He noted that the 2025 theme reflects a challenging reality, stating that midwives serve in fragile health systems, conflict zones, and through natural disasters and pandemics.
“In many cases, they are the only providers of sexual and reproductive health services in their communities,” he added.
The Acting Regional Director further noted that despite a projected shortage of 6.1 million health workers in the African Region by 2030, important progress has been made.
He stated that between 2013 and 2022, the number of midwives nearly doubled, from 173,269 to over 334,000, noting that this growth reflects what is possible with political will, coordinated investment, and focused strategies.
Despite the growth in the region, Nigeria is currently facing a mass exodus of medical practitioners.
Continuing, Dr Ihekweazu stated that WHO continues to work closely with Member States to expand competency-based midwifery education, improve workforce density, and embed midwives in national health and emergency preparedness strategies.
“In 2024, Member States endorsed the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter, a shared commitment to long-term investment in health workers.
Zimbabwe’s new Investment Compact, for example, will mobilise an additional $166 million annually for three years to strengthen its health workforce, with midwives at the centre.
“Still, too many midwives work without proper tools, pay, protections or opportunities for advancement. Their voices are often excluded from the policy decisions that affect their work, and the lives of the people they serve,” he added.
He urged governments to ensure midwives were integrated into emergency preparedness plans, protected in crisis response and supported with mental health resources and fair working conditions.
“Education must evolve to equip them with skills in trauma-informed care, conflict sensitivity and leadership.
“When midwives are trained, respected and empowered, health systems grow stronger, and every mother and child have a better chance at life.
“WHO stands with midwives, today and every day. Let us move beyond symbolic recognition.
“Let’s act, because midwives are not only critical in every crisis. They are essential to every solution,” the acting regional director said.
