Sierra Leone needs midwives NOW more than ever

Sierra Leone needs midwives now more than ever. We know that with well trained and equipped midwives more than 1,500 mothers and 6,000 babies could be saved in Sierra Leone. That is why MamaYe is calling for more midwives to fill the gap.

Sierra Leone needs midwives now more than ever.  We know that with well trained and equipped midwives more than 1,500 mothers and 6,000 babies could be saved in Sierra Leone. That is why MamaYe is calling for more midwives to fill the gap:MamaYe is today, in support of Midwives day May 5th, calling on Miatta Kargbo, the Minister for Health and Sanitation, to urgently address the shortfall in the number of midwives needed to help Sierra Leonean mothers deliver safely.

Midwives play a vital role in supporting women throughout their pregnancy as well as being highly trained to manage complications at birth. Many midwives travel long distances and work long hours to give high quality care to women in their community. Experts in maternal and newborn health have calculated that if all women in Sierra Leone had access to the services provided by midwives, then the lives of up to 1,500 mothers and 6,000 babies could be saved by 2015.Speaking on behalf of the Aberdeen Womens Centre, program manager Augustine Kosia said: “we must have a midwifery school in every region of the country, north, south, east and west. This is one of the ways to ensure sustained capacity building through adequate training centres and institutions for midwives all over the country”.

Data published in the report State of the World’s Midwives show that in Sierra Leone, there was 1 midwife per 1,000 live births in Sierra Leone. This is far below the benchmark of 6 midwives per 1,000 live births.

Agustine Kosia added: “I am congratulating all midwives and commend them for their work; they must press on to continue saving the lives of our mothers and babies.” 

 

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