The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s frontline midwifery care, describing nurses and midwives as the essential backbone of the nation’s effort to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
Speaking at the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) headquarters in Abuja, UNFPA Nigeria Resident Representative Ms. Muriel Mafico announced the launch of the Electronic Accreditation Management System (eAMS) and the handover of updated training resources.
The event was attended by senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Health, the NMCN Registrar, and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ms. Mafico noted that the transition to a cloud-based accreditation system marks a significant shift toward transparency and efficiency in health workforce regulation.
Addressing the current state of the health sector, Ms. Mafico highlighted a critical shortage in the workforce, noting that Nigeria requires approximately 70,000 additional midwives to meet World Health Organization standards by 2030. This gap is currently exacerbated by the continued emigration of skilled healthcare professionals.
Ms. Mafico emphasized that investing in midwifery provides a high return on investment, noting that well-supported midwives can deliver up to 90 percent of essential sexual, reproductive, and maternal health services.
“Achieving universal coverage of care provided by midwives can avert almost two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths,” Ms. Mafico said. “Every one dollar invested in midwife-provided care delivers an estimated sixteen dollars in social and economic returns.”
The UNFPA’s support includes curriculum development, the establishment of skills laboratories, and specialized training for humanitarian settings in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. The agency is also focusing on community midwifery to ensure rural and underserved areas in states like Sokoto and Kwara have access to skilled care.
The newly launched eAMS is expected to digitize the Council’s formerly paper-based accreditation process, while additional digital tools, such as the Safe Delivery App, are being deployed to facilitate remote learning and skill upgrades for midwives across the country.
