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Midwives in a Changing Climate
The intersection of climate change, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and humanitarian crises is increasingly evident.
Rising climate-related disasters disproportionately harm women and girls—disrupting access to SRHR, increasing risks of pre-term births, maternal and newborn deaths, malnutrition, infections, and gender-based violence. Within this context, midwives are critical to providing dignifying, woman-centered care in these crises.
Midwives are not only providers of family planning (FP) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, but frontline responders in times of environmental crises and displacement. Midwives are climate actors, advocates, and leaders. Because they are embedded in their communities, they know the needs and the solutions that work. Moreso, they are women’s advocates: Where women and young people are advocating, midwives stand alongside them in partnership and solidarity.
On International Humanitarian Day, August 19, 2025, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the ICFP Environment and Climate Change Sub-Committee, hosted a webinar exploring the nexus of family planning, climate change, and humanitarian response. The event highlighted how midwives, as trusted community providers, are uniquely positioned to deliver FP and SRHR services in fragile and climate-affected settings.
Moderator Devyani Chaturvedi, ICFP Environment and Climate Change Sub-Committee Co-Chair, opened by emphasizing that SRHR is not only a health issue but a human right central to building climate-just futures. Neha Mankani, ICM’s Humanitarian Support and Climate Engagement Advisor and the keynote speaker, underscored the frontline role of midwives in crisis response, noting that climate-related disasters exacerbate maternal health risks and deepen gender inequalities. She reflected on her personal experiences as a midwife responding to flooding in her home community.
“Reflecting on a recent global survey report on Midwives and the Climate Crisis, midwives don’t see the climate crisis as a future problem, more than 75% of them see it as an everyday emergency that is harming their communities and affecting their day-to-day work.”
In the panel discussion, Kate Charlston shared her field experience with Médecins Sans Frontières, stressing that midwives face barriers such as supply shortages, insecurity, and policy neglect in emergencies. She called for SRHR to be prioritized alongside food, water, and shelter in humanitarian response.
Macarena Martínez presented evidence from her research in Chile, showing how extreme heat significantly increases risks of preterm births and maternal complications. She emphasized the need to prepare health systems and train midwives to adapt to climate-driven health impacts.
Sarah Uwimbabazi, Margaret Pyke Trust Uganda Manager, highlighted her integrated program in Uganda, where midwives are linking family planning with wetland conservation, proving that health and ecosystem resilience are interdependent.
Finally, Merette Khalil, ICM’s PUSH Campaign Lead, explained that the PUSH campaign places women at the center and midwives as a key solution that must be integrated in climate and humanitarian policy agendas.
Midwives are essential to building climate-resilient, gender-transformative health systems. Join the PUSH Campaign and raise your voice with us as we call for stronger investments and gender-transformative policies that enable midwives as leaders in climate-affected communities and champions of resilient health systems!
Here is what we are PUSHing for:
If you missed the event, watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/v6FWMMWhrU8?si=rN3YfHctDe62GZXT
More information: ICM Event Page | ICFP Event Post
