"70% of the mid-wives awarded for exceptional contribution to the promotion of mothers' and children's health in 2012 were UNFPA trained Community midwives"

The international day of midwives was colorfully celebrated in the town of Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland.  The celebration consisted of keynote remarks, marches, award events, etc. The day began early in the morning with brief welcoming announcements, a rally around the city and a marching of midwives from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Health. Around 8:30 A.M in the morning, crowds who took part in the march gathered at the Mansoor hotel to listen to speeches by the guests, and witness the recognition given to best midwives of 2012 by the government and the UN. Participants of the event included high ranking Officials from the government, UN staff, International and Local NGOs' representatives, community members and midwives.

The speeches made by the guests of honor all had one theme in common: There is a pressing need for more midwives in Somaliland to save the lives of more mothers and children.  Dr. Abdirak Yusuf Abdilahi, Director of Reproductive in the Ministry of Health said, "There are currently 250 midwives working at health centers though a recent assessment has put the need for midwives at  1200. It remains clear to all stakeholders a long and committed effort is required to properly address the need and continually improve the care and support provided to mothers and children in terms of access to health care.''

Dayal Debnath from UNFPA emphasized the role midwives play in ensuring safe motherhood and promoting family planning methods in the community. ‘‘UNFPA set one of its high priorities to support the Somaliland government increase the coverage and competence of midwives'' Dayal added "currently100 midwives are being trained and will soon join the service delivery points by end of the year''

Mr. Abdi Ahmed, the Director General of MOH went on to congratulate midwives, thanking them for the hard work they do and hard conditions they are working under on a daily basis. He said "midwives are like soldiers who need to be vigilant day and night because they protect our mothers from untimely death, save lives of our new born babies, and promote healthy families and health communities"

Following the speeches, the Somaliland Nurses and Midwifery Association invited seven midwives nominated from the regions to be awarded and recognized for their contribution in 2012 to the promotion of healthy communities and protection of mothers and children.  Interestingly, five out of the seven midwives were UNFPA trained community midwives who are currently based in the regions of Somaliland. Their achievement comes as a testament to the life changing impact of UNFPA interventionspreventing unnecessary deaths, and treating complications of pregnancies. It is worth nothing that every single dollar invested by UNFPA went into helping mothers give birth to healthy babies and thus creating healthy families that contribute towards the making of a prosperous nation.

As part of the events celebrating the international midwives day, the Somaliland National Television aired video messages highlighting and promoting the role of midwives in keeping mothers and children healthy and productive and on the need to get access to family planning methods.