FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) is pleased to announce that it has received a US$10.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the lives and health of women and newborns in the world's most underserved regions.

Midwives are integral in achieving global maternal and newborn health and in reaching Millennium Development Goals Four and Five, to reduce child and maternal mortality.  They constitute a large percentage of the world’s skilled birth attendants and care for millions of women and newborns each year. An important element of the primary health care system, midwives are key players in improving maternal health across the globe. 

Bangladesh is on a journey towards universal family planning.

A £2.8 million grant has been awarded to help raise maternal and newborn health standards in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Bangladesh, India and Sierra Leone. 

The topic for World Health Day 2014 (7 April 2014) is vector-borne diseases.

International Women’s Day (IWD) - a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future - is celebrated on 8 March each year. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) reaffirms its support for its valuable objectives.

In 1948, the First World Health Assembly called for the creation of a ‘World Health Day’ to mark the founding of the World Health Organization. Since 1950, it has been celebrated on 7 April each year, with a different annual theme that highlights a priority area of concern.

The day is noted in many different ways - examples of activities include holding meetings and conferences about new developments within midwifery; giving awards to midwives for special pieces of work; and participating in fundraising activities to raise money for midwives overseas where resources are stretched or scarce. 

What is the role of the midwife? 

‘The basic services midwives routinely provide to protect the health of the mother and baby include: 

The first IWD was held in 1911 and this year is its special Centenary celebration.

Centenary theme
The 2011 Centenary theme is ‘Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women’.

In some years, global themes have been honoured around the world - in others, organisations/groups have 'localised' their own themes as appropriate.

Good health the firm foundation - FIGO’s global support for women of the world

What is International Day of the Midwife?  International Day of the Midwife - held on 5 May each year - was originally launched by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) in 1992 as a day on which to celebrate midwifery and to highlight the importance of midwives’ work worldwide. The occasion is an opportunity for meetings and conferences, for awards to be given, and for fundraising activities to be held to raise money for midwives overseas.