A United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) representative called for 5,000 more midwives in Yemen in order to allow the country to achieve universal access to skilled reproductive health care and reduce its maternal mortality rate. The additional midwives are urgently needed to meet needs of women, especially in rural regions of the country where about 6 in 10 women received no prenatal care, reports IRIN.
The representative, Mr. Hans Obdeijn, was presenting at a workshop organized by the Yemeni Midwives Association in honor of International Day of the Midwife earlier this month. “Every year 365 women die…in Yemen from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. We can save these Yemeni women by getting midwives in their communities,” Obdeijn added, reports the UNFPA.
