Web developers and designers came together from around the UK for a "Data Mashup" and "Hack" weekend to develop an online app for the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) Upcoming State of the World's Midwifery Report.
This event was hosted and facilitated by the social enterprise Forward 25 (CIC), a company based at the Innovation Centre at the University of Exeter in Devon, UK.
Presenting the upcoming State of the World’s Midwifery report:
The health of women and their newborns took centre stage in global development discussions in 2010, when the United Nations Secretary-General launched the ‘Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health’. While millions of women, newborn and children still die needlessly and the closely linked Millennium Development Goal 5 (improve maternal health) and Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduce child mortality) remain the least advanced of the MDGs, progress is finally underway and the world has
gathered to accelerate action and save lives.
The State of World’s Midwifery Report, which will be the first of its kind, is intended to strengthen midwifery capacity around the world. It will provide new information and data from 60 countries (accounting for 97 per cent of all maternal deaths) to:
(1) examine the number and distribution of health professionals involved in the delivery of midwifery services
(2) explore emerging issues related to education, regulation, professional associations, policies and external aid
(3) analyse global issues regarding health personnel with midwifery skills, most of whom are women, and the constraints and challenges that they face in their lives and work
(4) call for accelerating investments for scaling up midwifery services, as well as improving the skills of health care workers
