“Today and every day, we need to close the gaps in providing universal sexual and reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare,” he added. “Maternal deaths have dropped by nearly 50 percent, down from an estimated 523,000 in 1990 to some 289,000 at latest count,” said Osotimehin. “But while this progress is welcome, it is not enough. Today, nearly 800 women continue to die every day from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. We must do more. And we must start with training and providing more midwives.”

 

In its State of World Midwifery Report, the UNFPA projects Nigeria could lose up to 100,000 midwives by 2030 due to outflow from attrition, death and retirement, if nothing is done to replenish the number of midwives in service. UNFPA has pledged continued support for midwifery schools to help train some 15,000 midwives around the world. It donated anatomical models to 11 midwifery schools around the country, bringing the number of schools getting support for training equipment to 25.