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Dear friend,

Did you know that 800 maternal deaths occur each day, and virtually all of them are 100% preventable?

These deaths are often caused by avoidable complications like bleeding and infections that could be prevented or addressed by a qualified midwife. In fact, licensed midwives can help avoid about two-thirds of all maternal and newborn deaths.

But right now, there is a global deficit of 900,000 midwives.

UNFPA is investing in midwifery by recruiting, training, and deploying midwives to the communities where they’re needed most. But we want to hear from you, friend: How important do you think midwifery programs should be to our work?

A new United Nations report lays out the consequences of inaction in stark terms: If we don’t speed up the progress of reducing maternal deaths, one million would-be mothers could die in childbirth by 2030.

Midwifery educator Duncan has seen this loss firsthand. A woman who had given birth at home ran into complications. She was rushed to Duncan’s hospital, but despite best efforts of Duncan’s team, they lost the woman within minutes.

“A community midwife could have saved her, but there just aren’t enough,” Duncan told us.

Listen, friend, we know there are a lot of important initiatives you can support. That’s why we want to get feedback from generous supporters like you: How high of a priority do you think our midwifery program should be in 2023?

Thank you.

— USA for UNFPA

FOR EVERY WOMAN AND GIRL