The Global Maternal Health Workforce

India’s Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) program was established by the National Rural Health Mission in 2010 with an aim to improve health outcomes—particularly among women and children—and to reduce disparities by working in their own…

Guatemala has a shortage of skilled birth attendants, and health workers do not always provide culturally sensitive, respectful maternity care. As a result, traditional birth attendants, known as comadronas, often assume responsibility for women’s care…

An effective health workforce requires not only a sufficient number of workers, but also an appropriate mix of health care providers or cadres. A group of researchers developed a new model for estimating sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and…

Six years ago, only 27% of women in Karamoja delivered in health facilities and the regional maternal mortality rate was 750 per 100,000 live births—among the highest in the world. Last year, 73% of Karamoja’s mothers delivered in health facilities, and…

Functional health systems depend on the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health workers. An effective maternal health workforce requires not only a sufficient number of workers, but also equitable geographic distribution,…

To mark International Day of the Midwife, the Maternal Health Task Force’s Sarah Hodin interviewed Geeta Lal, a maternal health expert who coordinates the Global Midwifery Programme at the United Nations Population Fund...read more

All women deserve respectful, culturally sensitive, women-centered care that takes into account how, where and with whom they want to receive maternal health care. In order to ensure that this happens, health systems must meet women where they are—both…

As part of the Advancing Dialogue Series on Maternal Health Series, the Wilson Center hosted a discussion to review findings from the "Midwives' Voices, Midwives' Realities" report and explore implications for global maternal and newborn health...read…

USAID reports that there are 18 million fewer health professionals in the world than what is needed, and the largest shortages are in parts of Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa. This implies that large numbers of women do not have access to skilled health…

In collaboration with the White Ribbon Alliance and the International Confederation of Midwives, the World Health Organization recently published the 2016 "Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Realities" report. Midwives play a crucial role in providing high…