Bangladesh highlights midwifery, primary healthcare at UNGA

Bangladesh highlighted its plans to strengthen primary healthcare and expand professional midwifery at a high-level side event of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

The event, titled “From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths”, was co-hosted by Bangladesh and Sweden in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at the UN Headquarters, said a press release.

The discussions focused on integrating professionally trained midwives into primary healthcare systems to expand access to maternal and newborn care and help reduce preventable deaths.

Dr SM Ziauddin Hyder, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Affairs, presented Bangladesh’s approach to strengthening primary healthcare through the integration and expansion of professional midwifery.

Bangladesh has committed to creating and deploying 25,000 midwife positions across its public health system by 2030. The initiative includes strengthening education and training, deployment, referral systems and digital health services.

The government’s approach seeks to position professional midwives as members of primary healthcare teams providing continuous care from pregnancy through childbirth and the postnatal period, with referrals to higher-level facilities when complications arise.

Dr Hyder has described the investment in midwives as an investment extending well beyond the health sector:

“When a nation invests in midwives, it invests in healthier pregnancies, safer births, stronger families and more productive societies,” he said.

The initiative forms part of Bangladesh's broader ambition to develop a prevention-centred Primary Health Care system that brings quality services closer to communities and reduces unnecessary dependence on hospital-based care.

The event also featured a ministerial panel titled “A New Era of Health Workforce Scaling”, moderated by Dr Hyder.

Representatives from Nepal, Slovenia, Thailand and Mexico shared experiences on health workforce planning, financing, education, regulation, deployment and retention.

Other speakers included Kemi Williams, Head of the Women and Girls Department at the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; Dr Ariani Dewi Widodo, Director of Human Resources, Education and Research at Harapan Kita Women and Children Hospital in Indonesia; and Karoline Myklebust Linde, Chief Executive Officer of Laerdal Global Health.

UNFPA said the event highlighted the role of midwives in strengthening primary healthcare and expanding access to quality sexual and reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health services. It said professionally trained midwives can provide up to 90% of essential services in these areas.

UNFPA has described Bangladesh’s commitment to deploy 25,000 midwives by 2030 as a major investment in the country’s health workforce. The organisation said the global health system is facing a shortage of about one million midwives.

The side event was part of Bangladesh’s wider focus on strengthening primary healthcare, with an emphasis on prevention, community-based services and maternal and newborn health.

By bringing together political leaders, ministers, UN agencies, bilateral partners, health professionals and private-sector innovators at the United Nations, the event demonstrated Bangladesh's intention not only to transform its own health system but also to contribute its experience to the global movement for stronger, prevention-oriented Primary Health Care.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh is seeking to translate its “Healthy Bangladesh” vision into concrete investments in people, institutions, digital systems and frontline services—with professional midwives positioned as a critical bridge between women, families, communities and the wider health system.

The message emerging from New York was clear: political commitment must now become implementation; investment must reach the frontline; and every woman and every newborn, regardless of where they live, should have access to safe, dignified and high-quality care.