By Bashir Hassan, Bauchi
Bauchi State Nigeria – May 6, 2025
To commemorate the 2025 International Day of the Midwife (IDM), the Bauchi State Ministry of Health and the State Primary Health Care Development Board (BSPHCDB), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), organized a sensitisation workshop for students of the Aliko Dangote College of Nursing Sciences in Bauchi.
The one-day event, held at the college’s conference hall, brought together nursing and midwifery students for an interactive engagement aimed at strengthening their capacity in reproductive and maternal healthcare delivery.
Declaring the workshop open, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Muhammad Dambam, described midwives as “community champions” playing critical roles in improving maternal and child health outcomes at both community and facility levels.
Dambam commended healthcare workers, particularly midwives, for their sacrifices and contributions to the state’s healthcare system. He urged the students to pay close attention to the presentations and discussions, noting that the knowledge gained would be vital in their future careers.
The commissioner also acknowledged the continued support of UNFPA in strengthening reproductive health services in the state, including family planning and gender-based violence interventions.
Delivering the keynote address, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem—represented by the Gender and Reproductive Health Analyst and State Programme Officer, Deborah Tabara—emphasised the critical role of midwives in delivering essential, life-saving services, especially in humanitarian and crisis contexts.
Kanem noted that midwives are often the first responders in fragile and hard-to-reach areas, providing up to 90 per cent of essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services. She also highlighted their role in supporting survivors of gender-based violence, which tends to escalate during crises.
“Chronic underinvestment in midwifery has led to gaps in training, infrastructure, supplies, and remuneration,” she said. “These challenges, present even in stable settings, are magnified during emergencies.”
She warned that recent funding cuts to humanitarian programmes threaten to reverse progress, with increasing maternal and newborn deaths already being reported in conflict zones, which account for more than 60 per cent of global maternal deaths.
Kanem called on governments and development partners to support the UNFPA-led Midwifery Accelerator Initiative, aimed at scaling up financial and programmatic investments in midwifery.
“Midwives save lives,” she said. “Let us work together to close the global midwife shortage—estimated at nearly one million—and end preventable maternal deaths.”
The workshop featured presentations on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Mental Health. The sessions prompted robust participation from students, who shared perspectives and asked questions on real-world healthcare challenges.
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