The government is going to recruit 1850 new midwives by this year to fill up the vacant posts, an official says. Mohammad Shahadat Hossein, additional secretary for nursing and midwifery, on Thursday said the government would also address the challenges midwives are currently facing in Bangladesh.
He was speaking at a consultation workshop jointly organised by Director General of Nursing and Midwifery in association with Bangladesh Health Reporters’ Forum (BHRF) on Thursday. The World Health Organisation supported the event. Midwifery as a profession did not exist in Bangladesh before 2010 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that 3,000 midwives would be deployed to improve maternal and newborn health in Bangladesh.
The UN’s population agency, UNFPA, later helped the government to create the profession. So far, 1149 midwives have been posted against those 3000 posts. The additional secretary said considering the role of midwives in maternal and child health, the government has decided to create 5,000 more posts.
He also lauded the role of midwives in prevented unnecessary cesarean section. Karima Akter, secretary of Bangladesh Midwifery Society, said they are facing many challenges. “Midwives are not practicing autonomously. We have less opportunity to work as a first line care provider for SRHR services including labour room management. Not allowed to manage emergency as well as initial stabilisations in all the facilities,” she said.
She said in some places, midwives are working at general ward. “In some places managers are non-cooperative and there are conflicts with the nurses to establish evidence based midwifery care.” Approximately 5,200 women die every year in Bangladesh due to pregnancy or birth-related causes, and 23 out of 1000 newborns do not survive. Two-thirds of these deaths would be preventable.
Global evidence shows that midwives who are educated and regulated to international standards can provide 87 percent of the essential care needed for women and newborns. The WHO has declared “2020 International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” for celebrating contribution of world’s 22 million nurses and 2 million midwives who make up half of the 50 percent of global health workforce – providing vital health care everywhere.
The year 2020 also marks the bicentenary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale. Throughout 2020 different activities are being implemented to recognize the critical contribution both nursing and midwifery for their key role in caring for people everywhere, including the most difficult humanitarian, fragile and conflict-affected settings.
By developing nursing and midwifery, WHO said, countries can achieve the triple impact of improving health, promoting gender equality and supporting economic growth. Strengthening nursing and midwifery will have the additional benefits of improved health (SDG 3), promoting gender equity (SDG 5), contributing to economic development (SDG 8) and supporting other Sustainable Development Goals.
Secretary for Health Services Division Md Asadul Islam inaugurated the workshop also attended by WHO representative Dr Bardan Jung Rana, UNFPA’s international midwifery specialist Rondi Anderson and President of Health Reporters’ Forum Toufiq Maruf.
