At the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, this high-level side event will promote embedding midwifery services within primary healthcare, helping nations ensure that equitable, high-quality, dignified care reaches everyone, including the most vulnerable populations.
The event is co-hosted by the Governments of Bangladesh and Sweden in partnership with UNFPA.
The global community is at a critical juncture in its pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Maternal and newborn mortality rates remain pressing challenges globally, yet evidence shows that investing in professional midwives is one of the most cost-effective, high-impact strategies to save lives in pregnancy and childbirth.
Midwives trained to international standards can deliver up to 90 per cent of essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent healthcare. Midwives also serve as trusted front-line workers, playing an essential role before, during and after crises, in maternal and newborn care, early disease detection and in response to gender-based violence.
This event will demonstrate that investing in the health workforce is the single most effective vehicle to achieving health security and equity, and will serve as a strategic stepping stone to the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
You can learn more about the 81st session of the General Assembly here and watch events on UN WebTV.
