Governments Should Promote Community Midwifery.

The U.N. Population Fund, the World Health Organization, and the International Confederation of Midwives "called on governments worldwide to promote midwifery in local communities to address the lack of access to skilled childbirth care." (link) :

According to UNFPA, half of the world's pregnant women are without access to skilled care at childbirth. The health of pregnant women and their infants has improved in Costa Rica, Egypt, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Tunisia because of the countries' investment in midwives and related training, the agency says. In addition, significant improvements in maternal and newborn health have been seen in Northern Africa, eastern Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America, UNFPA reported.