With contributions amounting to 127 million Swedish kronor (approx. 15.5 million USD) between 2017-2022, Sweden has been a key supporter of UNFPA’s and the Bangladesh Government’s efforts to improve the quality and availability of midwifery services and education in Bangladesh over the past decade.
Sweden’s support has been particularly critical during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as additional funding provided by Sweden has been used to improve the availability of remote reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services and to establish separate maternity wards for pregnant women with COVID-19 around the country. Furthermore, Sweden’s support has been crucial to ensuring the remote education of midwifery students, which has enabled thousands of midwifery students to graduate according to schedule.
Today on March 6, 2022, a delegation from UNFPA and the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka paid a visit to Dhaka Nursing College, Bangladesh Midwifery Society and Dhaka Medical College Hospital to interact with midwives and midwifery students about their experiences during the pandemic. The Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh, Her Excellency Alexandra Berg von Linde, and the UNFPA Representative a.i., Dr. Eiko Narita, joined the delegation.
The mission began with a visit to Dhaka Medical Nursing College, where the delegation learned about the institution’s current curriculum from Principal Shirina Akter and interacted with students in class. This was followed by a visit to the Bangladesh Midwifery Society and Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the delegation was briefed on urban midwifery services. Both the midwives and students were candid in sharing both their good and challenging experiences of working and studying during the pandemic.
”Midwives are the unsung heroes and key healthcare providers of sexual and reproductive health. I am very impressed by their important work. Providing quality education for midwives is essential for maintaining this crucial profession. Sweden is proud to support the development of the midwifery profession in Bangladesh, as well as contributing to the long-term goal of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity”, H.E. Alexandra Berg von Linde stated during the visit.
“It has been an inspiration to meet the midwives and midwifery students today. With the support of Sweden, these midwives have been able to support pregnant mothers deliver babies safely even during the COVID-19 period. We will continue to support the signature midwifery programme with the view to enhancing the quality of care in Bangladesh's health care system,” UNFPA Representative a.i., Dr. Eiko Narita stated at the end of the field mission.
