Kenya faces a huge shortage of qualified midwives to care foe expectant mothers and ensure safe delivery.
The number of these important professionals currently stands at 2,500, raising urgent need to for roughly 181,000 others to serve the Kenyan population.
The shortage of the midwives in Kenya has been blamed on the government backed move to phase out their training in the 1990s.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Kenya Midwives Chapter chairperson Louisa Muteti faulted the ongoing nursing training that includes midwifery as part of the course for nurses.
She says that the care required for mothers necessitates the separation of the two professions.
Midwifery includes taking care of mothers from the time they are expectant, through delivery to postnatal care, all which is aimed at ensuring the safety of both the baby and the mother.
While appealing to the government to address the issue as a matter of urgency, Muteti said the organization will push for a policy paper through the National Assembly and the Senate to establish midwifery as an independent profession and not as part of nursing.
