“I am extremely grateful for the support rendered by UNFPA and the UK Government through the Ministry of Health, which enabled me to pursue my dream of becoming a midwife.  This support has helped me grow in my career, inspired me to give back to my country and to appreciate my role in saving lives,” said Umu Fye, a midwife in charge of the Labour Ward of the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), Freetown.   

Midwives are critical for the attainment several targets of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), particularly SDG Target 3.1 on the reduction of maternal mortality; SDG Target 3.2 on ending all preventable deaths under five years of age; SDG Target 3.7 on ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, family planning and education; and SDG Target 3.8 on achieving universal health coverage.

The 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery report acknowledged that increasing the number of midwives and the quality of care they provide, would save an estimated 4.3 million lives a year by 2035 and, universal coverage of midwife-delivered interventions by 2035 would avert 67 per cent of maternal deaths.

To increase the number of competent midwives and address the gap in the midwifery workforce in Sierra Leone, UNFPA, through the Saving Lives in Sierra Leone Programme funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provides financial and technical support to Sierra Leone for the training of midwives.

The support to the midwifery training programme includes providing scholarships to midwifery students, supportive supervision to the clinical placement sites for midwifery students and strengthening the preceptorship programme by developing policy and implementation guidelines, among others.

Through this support, the country has recorded an increase in the number of trained midwives from fewer than 100 in 2010 to approximately 1,579 in 2023. Despite this progress, the country still faces a shortage of midwives with a ratio of 2 midwives per 10,000 people, lagging behind the global target of 4 midwives for every 10,000 people.

Umu Fye is among the midwives trained to date by the Ministry of Health with support from UNFPA and the UK Government’s FCDO.

When she completed her midwifery training in 2018, Umu was sent to work at the Koidu Government Hospital in Kono. “When I was deployed in Kono after graduation, I went there wholeheartedly knowing that the knowledge given to me freely should be used to benefit hard to reach areas. I am happy that, following my training as a midwife, I am contributing to the reduction of maternal mortality, all thanks to UNFPA and its donors,” a joyful Umu recounted.

She added that the training provided an opportunity to learn new ideas critical to the global campaign to end preventable maternal deaths. “At Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), she said, when pregnant and postnatal women face serious complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, they are referred to the High Dependency Units (HDUs), a dedicated unit of the maternity wing, established with support from UNFPA and the UK Government’s FCDO fund through Doctors for Africa –CUAAM.”

Umu adds that she is proud of her contribution to national development through her work as a midwife. “There is a reduction in the number of women dying while giving birth and I am happy for the role I play in this as a midwife. This is also as a result of the support donors are providing to the country.”

Appealing to Sierra Leone’s development partners, she added, “Having benefited from the support provided by development partners, I remain thankful to them. Their support is helping the country in tackling preventable maternal deaths and for this, I am making a passionate appeal for them to continue with their support.”

Recent UN estimates indicated a significant reduction in Sierra Leone’s maternal mortality ratio which reduced by 74 percent between 2000 and 2020, from 1,682 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 443 per 100,000 live births

Media Contacts:
John Baimba Sesay | Web and Media Analyst | UNFPA Sierra Leone |  jsesay@unfpa.org