Strengthening Midwifery Services with UNFPA
In collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) , the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) will deliver a broad range of initiatives that will further contribute to the professionalisation of midwifery globally and strengthen ICM's member associations locally and regionally.
The UNFPA project deliverables include workshops at the ICM regional conferences focusing on advocacy training and respectful maternity care as well as toolkits that provide ongoing resources for midwives in these areas.
Advocacy Workshops
In 2019, ICM is developing specific advocacy resources for midwives, Member Associations and UNFPA country midwife advisors to facilitate advocacy nationally. A key advocacy resource currently being developed is an advocacy toolkit which will evolve as feedback is received to ensure the toolkit reflects best practice in advocacy and is relevant across the regions.
Alongside the advocacy toolkit, ICM advocacy workshops are currently being implemented at ICM regional conferences. These workshops aim to help ensuremidwives can advocate not just for women and newborns in community and health care settings, but in any arena: political, social, educational and economic.
Quality Midwifery Education
Establishment of the Midwifery Education Development Pathway (MEDPath) will provide a cohesive approach to program development and implementation. A comprehensive set of evidence-based resources developed for global use and local adaptation will increase the consistency of curriculum design, learning and teaching methodologies, teacher competence, assessment processes, practical and applied learning opportunities, midwifery competence development and quality assurance measurement.
The ICM has previously developed several resources including a training program to prepare teachers in competency-based education pedagogy. In 2019, these resources will be adapted to improve alignment with relevant global standards. This will provide a solid foundation for further development of MEDPath and the development of an online course that targets support to programs not yet meeting the global standard.
Respectful Maternity Care
Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is a universal human right that is due to every childbearing woman in every health system around the world. Disrespect and abuse of women during maternity care can significantly impact women’s willingness to seek out life-saving maternity care and undermine the value and crucial role of midwives in national health systems and the global health space. It is crucial for midwives worldwide to truly understand RMC and what it means for them in the contexts in which they work. Through the delivery of workshops and the development and dissemination of RMC guidelines, ICM will continue to influence and educate midwives about the importance of RMC and its relevance to their practice as midwives.
The ICM will also deliver an RMC training workshop during the Africa regional conference to address RMC in different contexts and provide guidance for midwives on how to manage situations sensitively and with Quality, Equity, Dignity and Leadership at the core of their practice.
Quality Midwifery Consultancy Services
As the technical expert on midwifery, ICM recognises the importance of quality within its own service provision to partners, stakeholders and members. ICM has a global network of midwives with diverse areas of expertise, a small pool of whom make themselves available to represent ICM as consultants on various projects and engagements, and many more who seek such opportunities.
In 2019 we will continue to develop training modules and processes which all midwives seeking to represent ICM as a consultant must undertake to ensure quality and consistency of practice, education and application. ICM will launch the finalised training modules on an integrated online learning platform and pilot the delivery of consultant training.