The International Day of the Midwife
Every year May 5th is the International Day of the Midwife, a day dedicated to recognizing the vital work done by midwives all over the world to improve the health of mothers and infants, particularly newborns.
A cost-effective intervention
CMMB Peru
Countries that improve and expand midwifery care experience dramatic improvements in maternal and neonatal health. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates upgraded midwifery services could save millions of lives each year in low-resource settings.
As an organization dedicated to saving the lives of women and children in under-served communities, CMMB has launched a new Children and Mothers Partnerships (CHAMPS) initiative to target the leading causes of illness and death among the most vulnerable women and children in Haiti, Peru, Kenya, South Sudan, and Zambia.
Today, we are proud to honor midwife Susan Angelo Sunday, a vital member of our new CHAMPS program in Western Equatoria State in the Republic of South Sudan.
“I am proud of the work I do here.”
Susan was one of the first 17 midwives to graduate after the 22-year-long civil war that devastated the country. South Sudan now has approximately 60 midwives for a population of 12 million people.
“At CMMB we offer integrated and focused ante-natal care, and we are improving the health of mothers and children. As a midwife, I have to deal with all aspects of reproductive health services. We have a high rate of HIV, for example, so we provide testing and treatments to pregnant mothers, and train them in risk reduction. A midwife here must know how to treat all reproductive health concerns.” – Susan Angelo Sunday
Investing in midwives and ante-natal care in South Sudan has made a difference: at CMMB’s maternity clinic in Ezo, we recently celebrated 1,500 successful births with no deaths among either mothers or newborns.
On this International Day of the Midwife, CMMB thanks all our partners and donors for their important contribution to the incredible work done by Susan and all the other midwives around the world dedicated to saving mothers and children.