Bangladesh to champion midwifery, primary health care at UN General Assembly

Bangladesh will take a prominent role in advancing maternal and newborn health at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), co-hosting a high-level event in New York on 24 September to promote professional midwifery as a cornerstone of primary health care.

Bangladesh and Sweden will jointly host the side event, titled "From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths", in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at the UN Headquarters.

The event will focus on placing professionally trained midwives at the centre of primary health care (PHC), with an emphasis on community-based maternal and newborn services, safe and dignified childbirth, and faster progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will address the gathering and present Bangladesh's vision of building a stronger, more equitable and people-centred health system under the government's "Susyasther Bangladesh" initiative.

Sweden will deliver the opening remarks, highlighting the two countries' longstanding partnership in strengthening professional midwifery.

From treatment to prevention

Bangladesh will use the global platform to advocate a shift in health systems from treatment-centred and hospital-focused care towards prevention-driven, community-based primary health care.

The government says strengthening frontline health workers, expanding community services, promoting healthy pregnancies and ensuring safe childbirth are critical to reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

A key policy commitment is the creation of 25,000 professional midwifery posts across the country. Officials say the initiative will strengthen maternal and newborn services, create skilled employment opportunities for women and build a more resilient frontline health workforce.

Global ministers to join discussion

The high-level event will bring together health ministers and senior representatives from Asia, Africa and other regions, as well as leaders of UN agencies, development partners, philanthropic organisations, civil society and the private sector.

Ministers from Mexico, Nepal, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are expected to participate in a ministerial dialogue on strengthening primary health care through professional midwifery.

A presentation and panel discussion will examine how governments can translate political commitments into sustainable investments in midwives and other frontline health workers.

The panel will be led by Dr S M Ziauddin Hyder, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Affairs, and will focus on financing, deploying and retaining professional midwives as an integral part of PHC and UHC.

Seeking a global movement

Bangladesh says the initiative extends beyond domestic health reforms, seeking to contribute to a broader international movement to rethink how health systems are organised and financed.

Its message to the United Nations is that countries should invest more in keeping people healthy, preventing avoidable illnesses and deaths, and delivering quality care closer to where people live rather than relying predominantly on hospital-based treatment.

The event is expected to generate renewed international commitments to strengthening midwifery through improved policy and regulatory frameworks, quality education, workforce deployment and retention, and greater leadership opportunities for professional midwives within national health systems.

By placing midwifery at the centre of the UN dialogue on primary health care, Bangladesh hopes to demonstrate that protecting mothers and newborns is not merely a specialised health intervention but a foundation for building equitable, resilient and prevention-oriented health systems worldwide.