New York, NY, January 15, 2026 - The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) have announced a five-year strategic partnership to strengthen the capacity, support, promotion, and advocacy for midwives working to their full scope of practice in humanitarian and fragile settings globally. This partnership aims to increase acceptance and utilization of midwives across their full scope of practice, including sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health (SRMNAH) services.

This landmark collaboration brings together IRC's extensive experience delivering essential maternal and newborn healthcare across all levels of the health system in the most fragile, crisis-affected settings, with ICM's position as the global voice of midwives, representing more than 100 midwives' associations worldwide.

Meeting an Urgent Global Need

Conflict and crises weaken health systems and lead to staggeringly high rates of maternal and newborn mortality. While global maternal and neonatal mortality has declined over recent decades, these gains have largely bypassed conflict-affected populations where progress to reduce maternal mortality has stalled. Countries with humanitarian emergencies are home to only 13% of the global population, but they account for 58% of global maternal deaths, 39% of newborn deaths, 41% of stillbirths. In these settings, access to skilled care before, during, and after birth is often disrupted or unavailable. Midwives could provide around 90% of essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health services, yet they are too often not recognized, included, or supported as part of humanitarian response systems, limiting their ability to deliver this care where it is most needed.

This partnership comes at a critical time. As humanitarian crises escalate worldwide, funding for maternal and newborn health in emergencies is declining sharply. The gap between what is required and what is currently available has never been greater. At the same time, the evidence for investing in midwives has never been stronger: one million additional midwivescould save an estimated 4.3 million lives by 2035,preventing 67% of maternal deaths, 64% of newborn deaths, and 65% of stillbirths globally. By combining the expertise, experience, and global reach of both organizations, this collaboration will ensure that mothers and newborns in crisis settings receive the highest quality care when they need it most.

A Comprehensive Approach to Crisis Response

The partnership aims to strengthen SRMNAH preparedness, response, and service delivery in humanitarian settings globally, while fostering integrated health systems and supporting national policy development to advance midwifery care. Together, the organizations will enable sustainable health responses that benefit communities both during emergencies and in routine care.

The partnership will focus on several key cross-cutting areas:

Emergency Response: IRC's rapid emergency response capabilities will be enhanced by ICM's global network of midwives, ensuring that quality SRMNAH care is prioritized from the earliest stages of humanitarian crises.

Quality and Respectful Care: The partners will jointly advocate for evidence-based practices and high-quality SRMNAH care in humanitarian settings, while leveraging ICM's expertise in midwifery education to strengthen healthcare providers' skills in crisis contexts.

Expanding Access to Care: Both organizations will work to improve access for vulnerable populations in remote and conflict-affected areas, supporting community-based midwifery models and connecting frontline responders to enhance care delivery.

Education and Capacity Building: ICM will support the integration of humanitarian response, climate change, and protection considerations into midwifery pre-service education and continuing professional development programs.

Climate Change and Health Resilience: Recognizing the growing impact of climate-related disasters on maternal health, ICM and IRC will collaborate on research, advocacy, and the development of climate-resilient health systems to ensure continued access to maternity care.

The partnership recognizes a fundamental truth: midwives are essential first responders in emergencies, yet their critical role has been consistently under-resourced and undervalued in humanitarian settings. This collaboration will change that, ensuring that quality, respectful midwifery care is prioritized from the earliest stages of crisis through long-term recovery.