May 5 is the International Day of the Midwife. This day was designated to enhance the responsibility and role of midwives and increase social interest in them.
Midwives take great responsibility and role in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and protecting their lives and health.
According to information released by the International Confederation of Midwives, the maternal death toll exacted by pregnancy and childbirth complications stands at 289 000 in the world every year and the number of stillborn children amounts to 2.6 million.
The confederation said that about 1.1 million health officials and 900 000 midwives are needed in the world to ensure the satisfactory reproductive health of women including the maternal and newborn health and the health of adolescent girls. This shows that countries are required to increase the number of midwives and raise the quality of education of them.
UNFPA and the confederation set the theme of the International Day of the Midwife for this year as “Follow the data, invest in midwives”.
A well-knit education system for the education and training of midwives is in force in Pyongyang and the provinces of the DPRK, and an education curriculum is being enforced to help students acquire the theory of premature delivery and practical skills as required by international standards.
The government set the 2030 national Sustainable Development Goals to further increase the rate of childbirth assistance by professional medical workers and reduce the maternal and newborn mortality and is pushing ahead with detailed action plans to this end.
Thanks to state benefits, all pregnant women are receiving medical services including regular check-up and child delivery free of charge at the obstetrical and gynecological departments in provincial maternity hospitals and county and ri people’s hospitals, as well as the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital.
Lao foreign minister leaves Pyongyang
Thongsavanh Phomvihane, foreign minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and his party left Pyongyang on November 15
November 17, 2025
Thongsavanh Phomvihane, foreign minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and his party left Pyongyang on November 15
