The wife of a former governor of Kwara State, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, has said that in order to shape the post-2015 agenda with policy and research, the central roles that midwives play must be recognised.

She said this was because they were the protagonists in the quest to achieve safe births and also in lowering maternal mortality and morbidity rates.

She said this during her address at the 30th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives, in Prague, Czech Republic, recently.

During the occasion, Mrs. Saraki was inaugurated as the Global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Confederation of Midwives.

She advocated support, strengthening and empowerment for midwives at international, national and local levels through education.

While stating the activities of her non-governmental organisation, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Saraki said, “One of the most efficient tools we use is the Personal Health Record, which mothers bring to health centres during their pregnancy and labour, and up until their babies attain age five.

She said through partnering with the Midwives Service Scheme of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the PHR was adopted into the frontline of Nigerian health system — a situation she described as the result of a strategic partnership between the WBFA and Nigerian government departments.