As we know the importance of midwives and their ability to work effectively and safely is paramount to the lives of mothers and their babies all over the world. The current Soroptimist International Birthing in the Pacific Programme in Papua New Guinea is a prime example of this. In Africa, it is just the same. The importance of midwives is vital to the lives of women and children. Recently there has been a petition to nominate Zimbabwean Midwife Esther Madudu for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. Esther is part of the AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) campaign ‘Stand Up For African Mothers’. 

Esther Madudu, a Zimbabwean midwife who works in the Katine village in Uganda is fronting the campaign in order to draw attention to Africa’s high maternal mortality rates and advocate for ways to reduce it. Madudu is 31 and has been a midwife for 11 years. On average she delivers 45-50 babies per month. In the four months she has been working at the Tiriri health centre in Katine no mother has died in childbirth.

Madudu and her colleagues have been finding innovative ways to assist them in their work at their poorly resourced centre. At night midwives have been holding mobile phones in their mouths for light when delivering babies due to a lack of electricity. The electricity supply to the centre was cut by the Lord Resistance Army on an attack on Katine eight years ago and has not been restored since.

African midwives work long hours, often in in extremely hard conditions with little or no pay. Esther will be representing these midwives on being put forward for the Nobel Peace Prize and Soroptimist International will be acknowledging this and have signed the petition backing her. The Prize would honour all African midwives, and midwives around the world, acknowledging the hard work they are doing and the lives they are saving on a day to day basis.   

Madudu says "My dream was to save lives. When you hear a baby cry on delivery, everyone begins to rejoice’.

If you would like to read more about AMREF and the work of the midwives in Africa, or indeed personally sign the petition please click here.