Official opening of the 5th Annual Congress of Midwives of South Africa

Issued by: Department of Health

28 November 2005

Official opening of the 5th Annual Congress of Midwives of South Africa at Emnotweni Arena Conference Centre, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang will officially open the 5th Annual Congress of Midwives of South Africa at Emnotweni Arena Conference in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga tomorrow on Tuesday, 29 November 2005.
The Minister will deliver a keynote address at 9am.

The conference, to be held from 29 November to 02 December, aims to address how the health care sector can improve the quality of maternal and child health care being provided by midwives and other health care providers.

The conference also seek to do the following:

• Empower midwives with knowledge and composite skills to render efficient and effective maternal and child health care services
• Provide a platform for the sharing of experiences and networking
• Facilitate updates and uniformity in midwifery practise in South Africa
• Strengthen partnerships with other relevant stakeholders

The role of midwives and their training level in South Africa is expanding to ensure continuity of care and address people's changing needs. They have training and skills to monitor and assess patients need, as well as provide that one-on-one care.

Nurses and midwives are essential resources to ensure high-quality health care. Today, we have a total number of 96 715 registered nurses and nurses midwives and 33 575 enrolled nurses and nurse midwives in South Africa (SA Nursing Council 2003).

Nurses and midwives must have a solid evidence-based education that enables them to meet the changing needs of a population by working, on their own and in teams with other professionals, in a variety of settings and along the entire continuum of health and illness. In addition, their work needs systematic evaluation to show its efficiency and effectiveness.

Nurses and midwives work alongside physicians, delivering babies, and ensuring the provision of high quality, efficient, equitable, efficient and sensitive health services, and more importantly, to meet the needs of patients in the most under-served and remote areas.
The South African Society of Midwives has won the bid to host the International Midwives Conference in 2011.

The media is invited to attend the Health Minister's keynote address:

Time: 8:45am
Date: 29 November
Venue: Emnotweni Arena Conference Centre, Government Boulevard, Riverside Park, Ext 1, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

Contact: Charity 083 679 7424 or Mpho 072 110 5376