About 830 women and 7,000 newborns, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, die each day because of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. These deaths are mostly preventable. Midwives are key to preventing them, so an initiative organized by Rotary members is supporting the essential work of midwives in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

According to the World Health Organization, increasing the number of midwives worldwide by just 10% could save up to 1.3 million lives each year. Rotary clubs are working to help meet that need, in part through leadership and advocacy training. Working with the Australian College of Midwives and the Papua New Guinea Midwifery Society, they launched the Papua New Guinea Midwifery Leadership Buddy Project. As of April 2025, the project has helped 52 midwives from Papua New Guinea and 31 from Australia develop their skills.

The program is rooted in collaboration. Australian midwives are paired with midwives from Papua New Guinea for five-day leadership workshops. The process culminates in a yearlong community health project designed and led by the midwives in Papua New Guinea, with continued support from their Australian counterparts.

Project organizer Judith Brown, a retired midwife and past president of the Rotary Club of Morialta, South Australia, says the exchange between the midwives is reciprocal and prioritizes learning from one another’s strengths. The partnership enables midwives to learn about other cultures and develop their professional skills, Brown says, but the primary focus is “trying to help women just have a voice in both countries.”

These collaborations have had lasting effects, from providing essential equipment to addressing issues like teen pregnancy. But at the heart of the program are the enduring connections between midwives who share specialized knowledge, a sense of global community, and a commitment to saving lives.