How the Incubator Turned Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration into Impact

In October 2025, the PUSH Campaign reached a critical milestone with the launch of the first Regional Advocacy Incubator in East Africa, hosted by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) in Nairobi. Bringing together six midwives’ associations (MAs) from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda the incubator implemented PUSH Campaign Methodology of coalition-building, civil society partnership, and movement-led advocacy among regional midwife leaders.

From the outset, civil society engagement was embedded in the Incubator as a core advocacy strategy.  Civil society leaders and PUSH Campaign champions—from the Reproductive Health Network of Kenya, Women in Global Health Kenya, HENNET (the national PMNCH CAAP partner), STADA Kenya, and others—were invited to present their advocacy efforts and highlight the synergies with midwifery associations and advocacy. A dedicated day focused on partnerships and movement-building demonstrated how midwives’ professional credibility, when combined with civil society’s advocacy reach, communications expertise, and community trust, creates far greater impact than either actor alone. As one participant observed, “Some organisations we never thought of collaborating with could actually advance our agenda.”

As part of the Incubator, MAs conducted stakeholder and power mapping that deliberately extended beyond ministries of health to include women’s rights organisations, youth movements, media actors, academia, private sector partners, and community-based organisations. Rather than advocating in isolation, MAs identified where influence already existed and how to align midwifery priorities with broader social and political agendas.

The Incubator made clear why the partnership and collaboration between MAs and community/civil society is crucial: Midwives hold evidence and lived experience from the frontlines of care; civil society transforms that evidence into public demand, policy influence, and accountability. Media actors help shift narratives, while multi-sectoral alliances open doors to decision-making spaces that professional associations rarely access independently.  

The results were tangible: Across five countries, MAs advanced six national advocacy campaigns that demonstrate the power of multi-sectoral collaboration in advocacy:

• In Tanzania, the Tanzanian Midwives Association (TAMA) translated the PUSH methodology into their national advocacy strategy aligned with national priorities and UNFPA partnership, which was disseminated and rolled out across 20 regional branches.  TAMA also launched the national digital campaign “Know Your Midwife” (Mkunga: Mkono Uokoao!), using storytelling and media to build public trust and visibility for midwives.

• In Uganda, two associations leveraged collaboration to accelerate policy dialogue. The National Midwives Association of Uganda (NMAU) convened a co-creation workshop with civil society, academia, UN partners, and the Ministry of Health to address barriers to Midwifery Models of Care (MMoC). This momentum carried into high-level policy discussions, where stakeholders openly acknowledged the crisis in women’s experience of care. Meanwhile, the Uganda Private Midwives Association (UPMA) navigated a restrictive legal environment around safe abortion and post-abortion care by working closely with civil society, legal advocates, and district health teams to reframe the issue around maternal survival and public health—reducing stigma and improving confidence among midwives.

• In Kenya, the Midwives Association of Kenya (MAK) secured national stakeholder buy-in for MMoC through a multi-sectoral engagement involving government, development partners, and professional bodies, and strengthened public advocacy through collaboration with a high-profile maternal health influencer—bringing midwifery messages to new audiences.

• In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Midwives Association (EMwA) advanced advocacy for MMoC endorsement through a co-created and multi-partner peer-reviewed policy brief, positioning midwives as essential health system leaders and the MMOC as the path forward

• In Malawi, the Association of Malawian Midwives (AMAMI) focused on advocacy for increased health budget allocation to improve remuneration and working conditions—linking workforce investment to quality of care and retention.

Across contexts, collaboration between midwives’ associations, civil society, media, and allied sectors increased legitimacy, amplified messaging, and accelerated policy traction.

These outcomes reflect the PUSH methodology in practice: anchoring advocacy in the lived experiences of women and midwives, deliberately embedding midwives’ associations within civil society and multi-sectoral coalitions, and combining technical credibility with strategic communications and media engagement to shift norms, influence policy, and reposition midwives as essential leaders in health system transformation. The Incubator reinforced the value of coalition-building and media engagement as advocacy accelerators.

Collectively, these achievements demonstrate that investing in midwives as advocates—embedded within broader movements—enables more resilient, visible, and effective pathways to health system change.

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