The State of the World's Midwifery 2021

The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 presents findings on the Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce from 194 countries. The report, produced by UNFPA, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Novametrics, shows the progress and trends since the inaugural 2011 edition and identifies the barriers and challenges to future advancement. The report establishes a global shortage of 1.1 million SRMNAH workers, the largest shortage (900,000) being midwives.

Video

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 Report

calendar_today05 May 2021

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 Report

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 Report

The world is currently facing an acute shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.

sowmy

Publication date

May 2021

Author

UNFPA, WHO, ICM

Number of pages

80

State of the World's Midwifery

The State of the World's Midwifery 2021

The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 builds on previous reports in the SoWMy series and represents an unprecedented effort to document the whole world’s Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce, with a particular focus on midwives. It calls for urgent investment in midwives to enable them to fulfil their potential to contribute towards UHC and the SDG agenda.

Publication date

May 2021

Author

UNFPA, WHO, ICM

Resources

The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021: Fast facts

An executive summary of the key points from the detailed analyses conducted for the State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021, including an infographic which presents the headline results and conclusions.

Publication date

May 2021

Author

UNFPA, WHO, ICM

Resources

State of the World’s Midwifery 2021: Executive summary

A 4-page summary of the key points from the detailed analyses conducted for the State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021. It sets out the scale of the workforce challenges and proposes 4 areas in which bold investments in midwives and midwifery are needed.

The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021

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Explore Country Data
You can search countries here. Please click a country on the list of results to zoom the map into that country.
Midwives per 10,000 population

Colour indicates the number of midwives per 10,000 population. "Midwives" includes midwifery professionals, midwifery associate professionals, midwives not further defined, nursing professionals with midwifery training and nursing associate professionals with midwifery training

Click on a country to view key data and access the SoWMy 2021 country profile

  • 10+
  • 4 - 9.99
  • 3 - 3.99
  • 2 - 2.99
  • 1 - 1.99
  • 0 - 0.99
  • not reported
UNFPA
ICM
WHO

The designations employed and the presentation of material on the map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNFPA concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

Publication date

May 2021

Author

UNFPA, WHO, ICM

Resources

How to use the SoWMy 2021 country profile

A detailed explanation of the data in the State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 country profile and the sources and definitions used to produce it. The data and analysis are explained, and advice is provided on how to interpret and use the country profiles.

Publication date

May 2021

Author

UNFPA, WHO, ICM

Resources

The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021: Webappendices

Technical details of the methods used to produce the State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 analyses, including: definitions of key terms, data collection methods, analysis and modelling methods, assumptions made to compensate for missing data, and countries included in the main analyses.

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