Midwives in Climate-Vulnerable Countries Prepare for a Future of Disaster Response

In eight countries, the UN Population Fund will be able to finance only 47 per cent of the 3521 midwives it intended to support in 2025, endangering the lives of pregnant women and newborns. In Afghanistan alone, the loss of support to 409 midwives will reduce access to specialized care for about half a million women.

At a press conference today, the University of Luxembourg presented a new four-year bachelor's program "Sciences Maïeutiques - Sage-femme", which will start in September 2025. The academic program is intended to bring the training of midwives in the Grand Duchy to European level and to counteract the acute shortage of skilled workers.

Berlin – Midwifery associations and other organizations are warning of the impacts of climate change on pregnant women, newborns, and families. "As midwives, we stand by mothers and children. Therefore, we demand that the interests of pregnant women, women giving birth, and their families be placed at the center of climate protection.

Midwives in Climate-Vulnerable Countries Prepare for a Future of Disaster Response

As horrific flooding struck Uganda’s Ntoroko District in 2024 – leaving schools, homes, crops, and communities underwater just a few years after the last round of severe flooding – Penenah Kiconco wondered who was going to care for pregnant women. “Thousands of families were displaced because of the floods,” the Ugandan midwife recalled. Experience told her there wouldn’t be nearly enough providers to monitor pregnant women, attend deliveries, m…