The Vice President of the Republic of Uganda Her Excellency Jessica Alupo has paid tribute to all nurses and midwives, as Uganda joins the rest of the world in commemoration of the International Day of Midwives.
The Vice President says she is endeared to midwives because her mother- Bernadette Akol Epel is a retired midwife.
This year’s global theme is ‘Together again: from evidence to reality’
The aim of this day is to engage stakeholders across the country with local activities of midwives as well as a virtual campaign advocating for investment in midwives and midwifery nationally, resulting in the wellbeing of mothers and newborns.
The National theme is: “Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life’’. Celebrations took place in Soroti.
Meanwhile the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) Executive Director Ms. Rosemary Kisembo emphasized the importance of birth registration and urged midwives to become child registration ambassadors in their communities. She appealed them, to encourage mothers to register their births promptly, to avoid loss of vital information.
“We are proud to work alongside midwives in our efforts to ensure that every child is registered at birth,” Kisembo said.
“Midwives are often the first healthcare professionals to attend to newborns, and they play a critical role in promoting birth registration and ensuring that children have access to their basic rights and entitlements.”
As part of its efforts to promote birth registration, NIRA conducted an express child registration exercise during the event.
All of NIRA’s services were provided on-site, enabling parents to register their children quickly and easily.
The Authority remains committed to working alongside midwives and other stakeholders to promote birth registration and improve maternal and child health outcomes across Uganda.