The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021

Overview

The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 builds on previous reports in the SoWMy series and represents an unprecedented effort to document the whole world’s Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce, with a particular focus on midwives. It calls for urgent investment in midwives to  enable them to fulfil their potential to contribute towards UHC and the SDG agenda.

Sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health (SRMNAH) is an essential component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Improving SRMNAH requires increased commitment to, and investment in, the health workforce. This report focuses primarily on midwives because they play a pivotal role within the wider SRMNAH workforce. Following the universality principle of the SDGs, State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 (SoWMy 2021) represents an unprecedented effort to document the whole world’s SRMNAH workforce. This approach acknowledges that not only low-income countries struggle to meet needs and expectations, especially in these difficult times, and that there are many paths to better SRMNAH: examples of good practice can be found in all countries, and all countries should be held to account.