Advocacy, Humanitarian and Climate Change

International Day of the Midwife 2025 Theme Announcement 

ICM
23 January 2025

The world is facing an unprecedented number of compounding crises—natural disasters, conflicts, and the ongoing impacts of climate change. These crises disproportionately affect women, girls, and gender diverse people, exposing them to heightened risks such as pregnancy complications and gender-based violence, while also limiting their access to essential health services. 

In these challenging times, midwives are critical. They are trusted first responders within their communities, who can prepare health systems to be ready for any crisis. They can provide up to 90% of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health (SRMNAH) services, even during humanitarian crises.

With minimal resources, midwives can: 

  • Provide safe births, antenatal, and postnatal care, 
  • Provide contraception, comprehensive abortion care, and care for survivors of gender-based violence, 
  • Support breastfeeding, ensuring newborns receive safe, clean, and reliable nutrition, 
  • Educate and prepare communities with the knowledge and tools they need to stay safe and healthy during emergencies. 

 

 

That’s why this year’s theme for International Day of the Midwife (#IDM2025) is: Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis. 

Why This Theme Matters  

While midwives are vital to health systems’ ability to prepare for and withstand crises, they are often not valued and are excluded from preparedness planning and response efforts. This is the moment to position midwives as the essential health professionals they are and advocate for their inclusion at every step of crisis preparedness and response. For midwives to adequately respond, we must also ensure they are safe and are equipped with the training, tools, and resources they need to save lives and protect rights in the most challenging settings. 

To learn more about why midwives are critical in every crisis, watch our powerful advocacy video, which highlights the lifesaving work of midwives and the urgent need to include them in every crisis preparedness and response plan.

Plan Your IDM Celebrations with Us

We’re announcing this year’s theme early to give midwives, midwives’ associations, and partners around the globe the time to plan impactful IDM celebrations. We want to hear from you! How are you planning to celebrate IDM 2025? Share your events with us!

Coming Soon: The Official IDM 2025 Toolkit 

To support your celebrations and advocacy efforts, we will release the official IDM 2025 toolkit in early March. This comprehensive resource will include key messages, advocacy materials, social media assets, and events to help you champion the theme Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis in your community. 

 

 

 

Open Call: Feature Your Work in Humanitarian Settings for IDM 2025 

Are you a midwife with experience working in crisis or humanitarian settings? Do you know a colleague whose work in these challenging contexts deserves recognition? Tell us more about yourself and your work or nominate a midwife you know! 

Selected midwives may be: 

  • Featured on our website or social media channels 
  • Invited to share their stories at our virtual events 
  • Highlighted as part of our IDM 2025 campaign  

Your voice can help highlight the critical role midwives play in crises, inspire others, and advocate for greater inclusion of midwives in crisis preparedness and response plans. 

Fill out the form to tell us more about yourself or nominate someone else. We’re excited to hear from you and share your work with our global community!