We worked with ICM and a group of Maternal Health partners to conceptualise a multi-pronged, global campaign designed to dramatically improve the status and funding of midwives over a ten-year period. PUSH is accelerating progress on reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, advance SRHR, address key barriers to women’s leadership in the global health workforce and shift underlying gender norms that undervalue women’s rights, lives and work.
Problem
ICM needed support to conceptualise a campaign to mobilise and align stakeholders in midwifery as well as garner support from new sectors and audiences in order to increase recognition and support for midwives around the world.
Objectives
Design a multi-pronged campaign that aligns partners around a set of shared goals for advancing midwifery in policy and funding spaces and building awareness around midwifery with new audiences.
Approach
We worked with ICM and partners to conceptualise the PUSH campaign and launch it at their 32nd Virtual Triennial Congress. We led a comprehensive campaign design process, and led efforts to mobilise new and existing stakeholders around the campaign goals through a range of campaign activities including events, PR, film making, art installations and beyond.
Outcomes
A handful of partners who had participated in the explorative workshops supported ICM in launching the campaign and designing and actioning its ambitious objectives. These original partners included Ariadne Labs, Every Mother Counts, Laerdal Global Health and the White Ribbon Alliance. Then, in year one, the campaign achieved:
- Over $1 million USD in funding from charitable organisations and individual philanthropists
- 10,000 + campaign supporters regularly engaged in sharing PUSH messaging and campaign assets
- Advocacy wins that include: Kenya recognises midwifery as a stand-alone practice, Niger state employs 400 midwives – up from 66, Malawi hires 180 midwives and launches accountability mechanisms, Pakistan enhances pay and creates midwifery vacancies, Malawi makes health budget 10% of overall budget (94 million) – amongst the highest % in Sub-Sahara Africa, UK Parliament pushed to debate the state of midwifery workforce- created a new maternity health task force.
Much of this was achieved by building strong partnerships with local organisations and moving resources to them to deliver advocacy wins.
