Welcome Dr. Mariamawit Asfaw
Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Service Lead Executive Officer, Ministry of Health to the Ethiopian Midwives Association (EMwA)
The Ethiopian Midwives Association (EMwA) is honored to welcome Dr. Mariamawit Asfaw, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Service Lead Executive Officer at the Ministry of Health, to the Ethiopian Midwives Association Her visit provides an important opportunity to learn more about EMwA’s work, exchange experiences, and build a stronger partnership for the future of midwifery and maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in Ethiopia. Your visit is highly valued as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue, celebrate progress, share learning, and build a stronger partnership for the future of midwifery and maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in Ethiopia
Together, we can strengthen midwifery, improve quality of care, and contribute to healthier women, newborns, children, adolescents, families, and communities.
What We Do
1. Strengthening Midwifery Practice
EMwA supports the continuous professional development of midwives and promotes evidence-based, competency-driven practice. The Association works with health facilities, training institutions, government partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen the knowledge, skills, leadership, and professional capacity of midwives.
2. Improving Maternal and Newborn Health
EMwA implements and supports initiatives that contribute to improved antenatal, childbirth, postpartum, and newborn care. The Association promotes respectful maternity care, continuity of care, quality improvement, and models of care that place women and newborns at the center of health services.
3. Advancing the Midwifery Model of Care
EMwA is supporting the development of the Midwifery Model of Care (MMoC) Protocol and Implementation Guide to promote continuity of care, teamwork, appropriate deployment of midwives, and woman-centered care.
In addition, EMwA is piloting the Midwifery Model of Care in three health facilities across Amhara and Sidama Regions and in Addis Ababa City Administration. Through baseline assessments, MMoC orientation, mentorship, and implementation support, EMwA is generating evidence and practical lessons to strengthen the MMoC and inform its future scale-up across Ethiopia.
4. Supporting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
EMwA contributes to improved access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, including:
- Antenatal and postnatal care
- Family planning and postpartum family planning
- Comprehensive abortion care
- Prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections
- Cervical cancer screening
- Adolescent and youth-friendly services
- Maternal and newborn health services
5. Reaching the Unreached Through Mobile Health and Nutrition Teams (MHNT)
EMwA is committed to bringing essential maternal, newborn, and reproductive health services closer to communities that face barriers to accessing routine health services.
With financial and technical support from UNFPA, EMwA is implementing Mobile Health and Nutrition Team (MHNT) services in Sherkole Woreda in Assosa Zone, and Dangur Woreda in the Metekel Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz Region.
Through the MHNT approach, EMwA takes essential health and nutrition services directly to underserved and hard-to-reach communities, helping reduce geographical, financial, and other barriers to care, particularly for women, newborns, children, adolescents, and communities affected by humanitarian challenges.
The initiative focuses on strengthening access to essential services while connecting communities with the broader health system through appropriate referral and follow-up mechanisms.
6. Supporting Women and Girls Affected by Gender-Based Violence
EMwA implements interventions that support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) to rebuild their lives, strengthen their economic resilience, and improve access to essential support services.
As part of these efforts, EMwA has:
- Provided basic entrepreneurship and business skills training to SGBV survivors to strengthen their knowledge and capacity to establish or manage businesses.
- Provided ETB 70,000 in seed funding to support 100 SGBV survivors to start or strengthen income-generating activities.
- Supported 100 SGBV survivors in Afar and Amhara Regions to engage in livelihood and income-generating activities.
- Conducted awareness-raising sessions in schools to promote knowledge on SGBV prevention, protection, and response.
- Organized community conversation sessions to strengthen community awareness, prevention, early response, and support for survivors.
Through these interventions, EMwA promotes a survivor-centered and empowerment-focused approach, recognizing that effective SGBV response requires not only access to essential services but also strengthened economic opportunities, community support, prevention, and meaningful participation of survivors in rebuilding their lives.
7. Strengthening Health Workforce Capacity
EMwA provides and facilitates blended learning, mentorship, on-the-job training (OJT), and continuous professional development (CPD) for midwives and other health professionals to strengthen competencies and improve the quality of care at facility and community levels.
These capacity-strengthening interventions are implemented in collaboration with key partners through different programs and projects, including:
- JSI – Strengthening Service Delivery (SSD) Project
- UNFPA – Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Project
- Jhpiego – RISE Project
- PSI – MNCH Smart Pathway Project
- EngenderHealth – Integrated RMNCH-N + PPFP Scale-Up Project
Through these partnerships, EMwA supports health professionals with practical skills, mentorship, supportive supervision, continuous learning, and evidence-based approaches, contributing to a stronger health workforce and improved maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, and reproductive health services.
Strengthening Health Workers • Building Skills • Improving Quality of Care
Our Approach
EMwA believes that sustainable improvements in maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health require strong partnerships, empowered health professionals, resilient health systems, meaningful community engagement, and evidence-informed decision-making.
Our work therefore brings together: Professionalism → Quality Care → Evidence → Advocacy → Partnership → Impact
Our Partnership with the Ministry of Health
EMwA values its partnership with the Ministry of Health and recognizes the Ministry’s leadership in advancing Ethiopia’s health sector priorities. The visit of Dr. Mariamawit Asfaw provides an opportunity to share EMwA’s experiences and achievements, discuss emerging priorities and challenges, and identify opportunities for stronger collaboration between the Association and the Ministry.
We look forward to continued collaboration in areas including:
- Strengthening midwifery leadership and professional practice
- Improving maternal and newborn health outcomes
- Scaling quality and respectful maternity care
- Strengthening the Midwifery Model of Care
- Supporting health workforce capacity development
- Generating and using evidence for policy and programming
- Reaching underserved and vulnerable communities
- Advancing the role of midwives in Ethiopia’s health system