ICM developing midwifery accreditation guidelines as Bangladesh strengthening own policy

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) that globally represents and supports the professional associations of midwives is working on developing an 'accreditation guideline' for the profession.

Nurul Islam Hasibfrom Torontobdnews24.com
Published : 19 June 2017, 07:07 PM
Updated : 19 June 2017, 07:08 PM

"This would be a prototype through which midwifery education progress and can be assessed regarding efficiency in preparing competent midwives," Nester Moyo, ICM adviser, said at a sideline event at the ongoing ICM Congress in Toronto on Sunday.

She said the objective was to strengthen midwifery education programme through accreditation.

A representative of Bangladesh regulators who was present at the meeting told bdnews24.com that they are also working on strengthening the country’s accreditation policy.

“We have formed committees, and they are working on that,” Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council (BNMC) Registrar Shuriya Begum said.

The 31st International Confederation of Midwives’ or ICM Triennial Congress, the biggest event on the midwifery calendar, began officially on Sunday with a colourful display highlighting their works that "make a difference.”

Over 4000 midwives, medical practitioners, obstetricians, gynaecologists, health care professionals, governments, policy makers along with UN agencies, international non-government organisations and donors from all over the world have convened this time in the congress that will end on June 22.

They are sharing and learning from each other’s work on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gaining new knowledge and latest evidence in midwifery practice, education and research.

The 2017 Congress is presenting a new agenda and challenges in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals.

On Monday, the ICM shared the newly commissioned Swiss TPH consultant organisation that is working to develop an accreditation scheme for midwifery education programme.

Michaela Schuldt and Leah Bohle who are working for the Swiss TPH presented their plans for preparing the global benchmark for the midwifery standards.

They said they could hold a workshop on finalising the plan in January next year.

The ICM adviser, Moyo, said they were developing this at the request of countries who do not have accreditation. “They are asking for something to use as prototype.”

She said this is also needed for high-income countries who take midwives from other countries to assess quality.

But she said it is not intended to replace national accreditation. “It's to give them a guideline to support their accreditation rules.”

The Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery (DGNM) and Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council (BNMC) are mandated for ensuring the quality of the midwifery education in Bangladesh where it is a new profession.

Accreditation system in place is a crucial component to ensure quality education.

A meeting was held on March 13 this year with Registrar Shuriya Begum in the chair. It discussed the process and the way forward to develop accreditation guidelines and tools for midwifery education programme and nursing colleges and institutes in Bangladesh.

The meeting recommended that existing accreditation guidelines will be taken into consideration while developing new “country contextualised accreditation guidelines and tools”.

The accreditation guidelines and tools will be “based on latest global evidence, and adapted to the country context of Bangladesh”, according to the meeting’s recommendation.

The meeting also proposed to finalise the process by October this year.