IDM-2005

JUDI BROWN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF MIDWIVES (ICM) The 5th

of May every year marks an auspicious occasion as people gather together, such as we are now, to celebrate the International Day of the Midwife. Today I am honored and privileged to be sharing this celebration with you in the knowledge that the midwives of Afghanistan, through their vision and resolve, have given birth to their own professional association. They have declared their commitment to function as a strong and influential professionals in their own country on behalf of women and their families and as an active member of an international network.

As part of your celebrations on this day I bring you greetings from the Board and Executive of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). The International Confederation consists of over 80 national midwifery associations from 73 countries and was founded in 1919. The ICM is the only international midwifery organisation formally recognised by the United Nations. The ICM together with its various and valued partners who include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) to name but a few, aims to advance world wide the aims and aspirations of midwives in the attainment of improved outcomes for women in their child bearing years, their newborns and their families wherever they reside.