Midwife shortage impacting maternal, newborn mortality – UNFPA representative

The shortage of midwives in Kenya is impacting maternal and newborn mortality.

This is according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative for Kenya, Dr Ademola Olajide.

Speaking on Tuesday at Makueni Mother and Child Hospital, Dr Ademola Olajide, called on the government to build the capacity of midwives.

Oladije said midwives deliver more than just babies and play a monumental role in promoting the well-being of communities.

“The global shortage of midwives is as high as 900,000. This trend is also highly- prevalent in Kenya, where there are only 0.4 midwives per 10,000 populations. WHO recommends 23 nurse/midwives and doctors per 10,000 populations,” said Olajide.

He added that the lack of adequate support of midwives and skilled birth attendants deny women access to high-quality delivery care and reproductive rights.

“We want midwives to be motivated. They will, in turn, deliver quality services and through this, they become one of the critical health workers who will even address the challenge Kenya is facing of early teenage pregnancies. Midwives’ voices are therefore often excluded or ignored during decision-making, leading to vast gender gaps in leadership and pay,” said Oladije.

According to Governor Kivutha Kibwana, Makueni County has since 2013 progressively hired and trained midwives.

Governor Kibwana said the county has trained 524 midwives and facilitated more trainers.

“Since 2013 the county health department has increased the number of midwives from 330 to the current 776 across all facilities. We have invested in training them to acquire skills and knowledge to ensure they can handle basic emergency maternal and newborn care,” said Kibwana

Louisa Muteti, the chairperson of the Midwives Association of Kenya, on her part, asked the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to have a package for pre-caution care.

“We should have pre-conception care as a package for our community to be sure of our outcomes. Through this we will reduce stillbirths in our country,” said Muteti.