As a result of advocacy efforts by White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria and FHI360, Nigeria's National Council of Health approves a task sharing policy that will allow community health extension workers to provide injectable contraceptives in communities.

Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Maeve Shearlaw gives reflections on the historic commitments made at the London Summit on Family Planning, and highlights the need for accountability and transparency moving forward.

Farhana Ahmad, National Coordinator of WRA Bangladesh, reports from the London Summit on Family Planning and calls for accountability.

Racheal Boma of White Ribbon Alliance Tanzania discusses the importance of accountability ahead of the London Summit on Family Planning.

In most Arab States midwives face challenges similar to those in many other countries: low status of women, gender issues, and being subjected to nurse and/or doctor and employer abuse or conflict. The lack of a distinctive representative body or having one that is not structured or credible has led to an undefined role for midwives in society. Moreover, in the absence of enabling legislation and practice regulation or formal recognition and support for midwives, young girls (and their families) are reluctant to pursue an education or career in midwifery.

On May 5^th, people all over the world celebrate the difference midwives make in saving the lives of mothers and babies.  International Day of the Midwife is about spreading awareness of the need for midwives and the impact they have on maternal and child health. It is also about advocating for government commitments to improve maternal and neonatal health by raising the number of midwives, and increasing funding and legislative support for midwifery. 

The size of the nursing-midwifery school classes in Tanzania is rapidly shrinking, and the shortage of midwives is felt throughout the country. According to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic Health Survey, only half of births in Tanzania are attended by skilled health personnel. For every 100,000 births in Tanzania, almost 800 women die needlessly in child birth. Most of these are avoidable with access to care and skilled health workers.

The Parliament of Uganda hosted the 126^th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) from 31^st March to 5^th April 2012 in Kampala under the  theme “Parliaments and People: Bridging the Gap”

In the assembly parliamentarians  from over 120 countries met to discuss women’s and children’s  health from a human rights perspective - as part of the resolution “Access to Health as a Basic Right: The Role of Parliaments in Addressing Key Challenges to Securing the Health of Women and Children.” -  They also discussed the crucial role that Parliaments and individual parliamentarians have to play in order to realize better health for women and children.