The Ministry of Health and Population and UNFPA Egypt organized a workshop to develop a roadmap for the National Midwifery Strategy for Egypt on October 31, in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF.

The workshop was attended by Dr. Tarek Tawfik, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Hossam Abdel Gaffar, Assistant Minister for Health Reforms and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, Frederika Meijer, UNFPA Representative in Egypt, Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Dr. Naeema Al Gasseer, WHO Representative in Egypt and experts from different sectors. 

With the support of the European Union, the workshop comes to build on Egypt’s commitment to the Regional Midwifery and Nursing Strategic Framework 2022-2030 and comes on the heels of the Regional Midwifery Forum that was held in May 2023. The regional forum aimed at utilizing country level evidence to develop multi-year country-level action plans for countries as well as providing a platform for exchanging best practices and common challenges among expertise in the field. 

According to the State of the Midwifery Workforce in the Arab Region launched in 2022, universal coverage of midwife-delivered interventions could avert 50,000 maternal deaths in Egypt by 2035.

The workshop included presentations on the League of Arab States Midwifery Strategy, global and regional perspectives on midwifery, legislative and regulative actions for midwifery in Egypt, midwifery education and midwifery training in Egypt.  

Dr. Abdel Ghaffar said that the Ministry of Health and Population is working to enhance the role of midwives through the strategy by ensuring appropriate working conditions and wages, and providing opportunities to develop their skills. He added that the National Midwifery Strategy will ensure that pregnant women are provided with necessary healthcare services, moving closer to our ultimate goal of every child birth being safe.

“Strengthening midwifery would promote women’s economic empowerment by enhancing women’s participation in the health workforce,” Meijer said, “It will also improve and ensure women’s access to quality comprehensive reproductive health services.”

On her part, Al Gassser said that “Every woman deserves to have a positive pregnancy experience and a safe delivery. No woman should die because of pregnancy or childbirth. Pregnancy care and childbirth care are primarily dependent on midwives who are often the first point of contact for women and children, contributing to healthier populations.”

Meanwhile, Hopkins said that “Strengthening midwifery education to international standards and customizing capacity building according to the needs of the most vulnerable women is a key step to improving quality of care and reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in Egypt.”