The International Confederation of Midwives Board of Directors; Dr Rita Borg Xuereb is in the front row, second from right
During the ICM Council meetings held recently in Toronto, Canada, Dr Rita Borg Xuereb, Head of the Department of Midwifery, was unanimously re-elected on the Board of Directors for a second three-year term. In the previous three years she acted as Director with the education portfolio and she also represented Europe. ICM works in close collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) amongst others.
The ICM triennial congress brought together more than 4,200 midwifery scholars, managers, practitioners and student midwives from Europe, North, Central and Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia Pacific and Africa to discuss and debate about midwifery matters. Discussions centred on evidence-based education and practice, advocacy, equity, normal childbearing and the rising rates of caesarean section rates amongst others. The latest initiatives about quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescents’ health (RMNCAH) were also highlighted in many presentations and workshops. This is a key global concern given that around 300,000 women die annually during pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum period; nearly 2.6 million newborns are stillborn each year and another 3 million infants die during the first month of life.
Dr Borg Xuereb also chaired the first plenary session and facilitated several workshops during the ICM Congress. Special emphasis was given to the sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) during the plenary sessions, as health is interlinked with most of the 17 SDGs. Key messages included the importance of high quality midwifery education and lifelong learning, strengthening regulation and midwives’ associations together with the crucial need for more midwives. The world needs approximately 350,000 more competent midwives to match the health needs of women and their families today.
The ICM triennial congress provided ample opportunities for networking and for the setting up of collaborative links between individual midwives, as well as educational and health organisations from diverse cultural backgrounds.