Minister of Health Includes “Midwifery” Fellowship in Supreme Committee for Medical Specialties

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, stated that the minister and the representative of the United Nations Population Fund exchanged visions and ideas on the axes of the International Conference on Health and Population, which is scheduled to be held in September 2023, under the auspices of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic.

Abdul Ghaffar added that the meeting discussed what has been achieved in the project to support health sector policies, in partnership with the European Union, which aims to support the implementation of the health sector reform program, in a way that guarantees improving the quality of health care services.

Abdul Ghaffar added that the meeting discussed the status of midwives in Egypt and their future plans, as well as discussing the developments taken by the ministry with regard to advancing the midwifery profession, including the formation of the Supreme Committee for Midwifery, which aims to update and follow up the job duties of midwives, in order to reduce rates of midwifery. Unnecessary cesarean deliveries and raising the rates of natural births for all categories of nursing licensed to practice midwifery.

Abdel Ghaffar said that the minister affirmed the keenness of the Ministry of Health and Population to raise the efficiency of midwives within the work system, by providing and updating various trainings for midwives in all governorates of the Republic, according to the latest international standards, explaining that the midwifery fellowship specialty was included within the Supreme Committee for Medical Specialties. In addition to the inclusion of the midwifery diploma among the specializations of the Arab Board, and the inclusion of midwifery specializations for masters and doctoral degrees in Egyptian universities.

Abdul Ghaffar pointed out that the meeting dealt with reviewing the results of cooperation between the Ministry, the National Population Council and the United Nations Population Fund regarding the use of social marketing for reproductive health, and benefiting from the experiences of other countries in the same context, to raise societal awareness towards reproductive health, in a way that ensures the completion of what it is doing. The Ministry of Health is making efforts to provide family planning methods, especially in remote and disadvantaged areas.