Strengthening midwifery education: transformative agenda for women, adolescents and youth in the Pacific

The Global Women’s and Newborn Health group worked with the UNFPA Pacific Regional Office to support selected countries in the Pacific region to undertake a review of midwifery education curriculum to strengthen quality midwifery education and therefore strengthen quality midwifery care across the region.

International evidence recognises that midwifery care, where care includes proven interventions for maternal and newborn health as well as for family planning, could avert over 80% of all maternal deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths. Reviewing and renewing midwifery education curricula in selected Pacific nations: Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Timeline

Phase 1: 2018-2022. 

Phase 2: 2023-2027.

Approach

Burnet’s team worked with key representatives in each country to undertake a review of midwifery programs and recommend strengthening in line with international standards for midwifery education.

The project also included capacity building through the provision of a faculty development program for midwifery educators in each of the countries involved