358 delegates at the ICM Americas Regional Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay!

358 delegates at the ICM Americas Regional Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay!

358 delegates at the ICM Americas Regional Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay!

The ICM Americas Regional Conference took place in Asuncion, Paraguay from 7-9 November and brought 358 delegates from North, South and Central America to collaborate, present, share and connect as a unified network of midwives. 

The Conference was a resounding success. Dr. Julio Mazzoleni, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay welcomed the conference attendees and eloquently affirmed the importance of midwives coming together from diverse backgrounds to serve the needs of women and newborns, support one another as midwives and make a positive impact on the world.

The ICM President, Franka Cadee and regional Board Members, Sandra Oyarzo Torres and Emmanuelle Herbert, welcomed delegates and formally opened the conference. President of the co-host, Asociación de Obstetras del Paraguay (AOP), Sandra Lopez, also welcomed participants.

(Photo of Dr. Julio Mazzoleni, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay)

Keynote addresses were given each day. Ana Labandera Monteblanco, Head of the Obstetric Department at the Women’s Hospital of Pereira Rossell Hospital Center, Uruguay, spoke on the importance of leading the way with ethical commitments so that we can promote and protect sexual and reproductive rights. Cheryllee Bourgeois, Cree/Metis Indigenous Midwife, Canada, spoke about Indigenous Midwifery and the significance of having fire in the belly. The LAC regional taskforce for maternal mortality reduction gave a plenary panel titled: Moving the needle on Respectful Maternity Care: Regional and sub-regional advocacy. Ema Schuler, President of the Latin American Federation of Midwives (FLO), Argentina talked about  professional identity as a key factor to strengthening the leadership of midwives in Latin America. Silvana Nora Bermudez, Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Nation, Argentina, discussed the midwife and her functions in public management.

Alma Virginia Camacho Hübner, Sexual and Reproductive Health Regional Technical Adviser, UNFPA LACRO, Panama, gave her address by video and discussed UNFPA’s commitment in strengthening midwiferyin Latin America and the Caribbean. The final keynote address by Franka Cadée, ICM President, was titled Leadership is a lifestyle.

The concurrent programme over two and a half days provide a variety of excellent sessions from midwives in the region with streams in English, Spanish and Portuguese as well as a variety of poster presentations.

Thank you to everyone who presented and shared their knowledge and practice. Thank you to all the attendees of ICM’s two workshops: ‘Respectful Maternity Care’ and ‘Be Bold. Be Brave: Advocacy for Midwives’ and the WHO/ICM consultation meeting. Your participation and passion during these sessions was truly inspirational and empowering and we hope that you took away from these workshops as much as we gained from you.

Congratulations to Johnson & Johnson, the Premium Sponsor of the Conference, for the success of their ‘First Touch™: Midwife Ambassadors’ workshop – as always this session was a hit and we look forward to continuing the momentum built in this workshop through our Midwife Ambassadors Challenge.

(Photos from the First Touch™: Midwife Ambassadors’ workshop sponsored by Johnsons)

The Johnson & Johnson Awards Ceremony during our welcome reception on the first day saw two magnificent midwives recognised for their contributions to Education (awarded to Guadalupe Hernandez) and Research (awarded to Cristina Franco).

We also continued our commitment to the What Women Want campaign by having a pop up wall in the main hall, where conference attendees were encouraged to write down their one main request for quality reproductive and maternal health care services. By the end of the conference, the blank wall was completely covered. So, to everyone who raised their voices to be heard: we thank you!

The gala dinner on Thursday evening, organised by our co-host, ICM member association Asociación de Obstetras del Paraguay (AOP), was a wonderful opportunity for the 80 delegates that attended, to meet and network around a traditional dinner, and get to know each other on a traditional Paraguayan dance! Thank you to AOP for organising and making this social event possible!

( First photo of ICM board member for Latin America Sandra Oyarzo Torres. Second photo of: ICM Chief Executive Sally Pairman, ICM board member for North America and the Carribean Emmanuelle Hébert and President of ICM Franka Cadée ) 

Thank you to our sponsors, AOP and to the 350+ delegates that made the ICM Americas Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay even better and bigger than ever!

Following the conference, on the afternoon of the last day, ICM facilitated the regional meeting. Board members, Sandra Oyarzo Torres and Emmanuelle Herbert led their sub-regions on the development of triennial workplans. Sandra took members through the ICM triennial strategy and Sally Pairman, ICM Chief Executive, provided an update on activities in the Head Office in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The ICM Americas Conference 2018 might be over but it is not forgotten: Here are some of the amazing highlights of the conference: Watch ICM 2018 Paraguay video: http://www.midwivesparaguay2018.org/

See you again in the Americas in 2021!

ESPAÑOL

¡358 delegados en la Conferencia Regional de las Américas de la ICM en Asunción, Paraguay!

La Conferencia Regional de las Américas de la ICM tuvo lugar en Asunción, Paraguay, del 7 al 9 de noviembre reuniendo a 358 delegados de América del Norte, del Sur y Central para colaborar, presentar, compartir y conectarse como una red unificada de matronas, parteras/os, obstetras, obstetricas y obstetrices.La Presidenta de la ICM, Franka Cadée y los miembros de la Junta regional, Sandra Oyarzo Torres y Emmanuelle Herbert, dieron la bienvenida a los delegados e inauguraron formalmente la conferencia. La presidenta de la co-anfitriona, Asociación de Obstetras del Paraguay (AOP), Sandra López, también les dio la bienvenida a los participantes.

La Conferencia fue un éxito y comenzó con la Ceremonia de Apertura, donde el Dr. Julio Mazzoleni, Ministro de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social de Paraguay, les dio la bienvenida a los asistentes a la conferencia y reiteró con elocuencia la importancia de que las matronas se reúnan en diversos ámbitos para atender las necesidades de las mujeres y los recién nacidos, apoyarse mutuamente y tener un impacto positivo en el mundo. El Dr. Mazzoleni fue seguido por el discurso de la conferencista invitada Ana Labandera Monteblanco, jefa del Departamento de Obstetricia del Hospital de la Mujer Pereira Rossell, quien habló sobre la importancia de liderar el camino de la partería con compromisos éticos para que se puedan promover y proteger los derechos sexuales y reproductivos de la mujer. Esto fue seguido por el discurso de la ponente canadiense Cheryllee Bourgeois: Cree / Metis, partera indígena,  quien habló sobre la participación de las parteras indígenas y la importancia de tener “fuego en el vientre”.

Por otra parte, el grupo de trabajo regional de América Latina y el Caribe para la reducción de la mortalidad materna, brindó un panel plenario titulado: Moviendo la aguja en la atención para una maternidad respetuosa: defensa regional y subregional. Ema Schuler, Presidenta de la Federación Latinoamericana de Obstetras (FLO), Argentina, habló sobre la identidad profesional como un factor clave para fortalecer el liderazgo de las parteras en América Latina. Por su parte, Silvana Nora Bermúdez, Ministerio de Salud y Desarrollo Social de la Nación, Argentina, habló sobre la partera y sus funciones en la gestión pública.

Alma Virginia Camacho Hübner, Asesora Técnica Regional de Salud Sexual y Reproductiva, UNFPA LACRO, Panamá, pronunció su discurso en video y habló del compromiso del UNFPA para fortalecer la partería en América Latina y el Caribe. El discurso de apertura de Franka Cadée, presidente de ICM, se titulóel Liderazgo como un estilo de vida. 

El programa simultáneo de dos días y medio ofreció una variedad de excelentes sesiones lideradas por parteras de la región con presentaciones en inglés, español y portugués, así como una variedad de exposiciones de carteles ¡Gracias a todos los que presentaron y compartieron sus conocimientos y prácticas! Gracias a todos los asistentes a los dos talleres de la ICM: Cuidado respetuoso de la maternidad' y 'Sé audaz. Sé valiente: Abogando por Parteras'y la reunión de consulta OMS/ICM. Su participación y pasión durante estas sesiones fue verdaderamente inspiradora y fortalecedora y esperamos que ustedes hayan aprendido tanto  de estos talleres como nosotros aprendimos de ustedes. Felicitaciones a Johnson & Johnson, el Patrocinador Premium de la Conferencia, por el éxito de `Primer Touch™: Taller de las Matronas Embajadoras- como siempre, esta sesión fue un éxito y esperamos continuar con el impulso generado en este taller a través de nuestro Desafío de Matronas Embajadoras