They also called for introducing a three-year degree course on midwifery instead of the existing one-year course to make them skilled and competent so that the midwives can help reduce maternal and child mortality rates.

UNFPA and Directorate of Nursing Services (DNS) organised the roundtable titled 'Midwives reach out to women wherever they live' at the IDB Bhaban conference room in the city to mark the International Day of Midwife.

In his welcome address, UNFPA Representative Pornchai Suchitta said that ensuring skilled attendance at delivery and emergency obstetric care can make greater progress in improving maternal health.

"We need to ensure that qualified midwives with high quality education are deployed in all the places where women give birth and we need to designate posts for them with enabling work environment," he observed.

Presenting the keynote paper, Ira Dibra, nursing officer of DNS, said the country's annual child delivery stands at around 40 lakh with only 14 percent taking place in presence of skilled birth attendance.

She pointed out that there are no midwives in true sense in Bangladesh. Currently, 20,000 nurses are providing midwifery services after attending one-year midwifery course, which is not up to the mark of international standard, she added.

Ira recommended introducing pre-service long-term training or course in the nursing training institutes. The midwives should be registered under Bangladesh Nursing Council, she added.

Dr Shafi Ullah Bhuiyan, assistant coordinator (Training and Research) of Maternal and Child Health Training Institute, also spoke.

Farid Hossein, bureau chief of the Associated Press, moderated the discussion chaired by Roselaind Biba Baroi, director of DNS.