We are looking for midwives who would be interested in speaking about the topics below or sharing their experiences. These contributions will be featured across ICM’s media channels and social media platforms.

Our upcoming awareness campaigns are:

  • World Hepatitis Day – 28 July
  • World Breastfeeding Awareness Week – 1–7 August

Please find below some key points to guide you if you are interested in participating. If you would like to contribute, please reply to my colleague Giulia, who is copied on this email, by Friday, 10 July.

 

Hepatitis day – 28th July

  • Promote awareness and education: Educate women, families, and communities about hepatitis transmission, prevention, vaccination, and treatment.
  • Encourage antenatal screening: Ensure that all pregnant women are screened for hepatitis B (and hepatitis C where recommended) during pregnancy to identify those needing care.
  • Support hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination: Advocate for and facilitate timely administration of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, which is crucial in preventing newborn infection.
  • Provide safe maternity care: Follow strict infection prevention and control practices, including safe injection techniques and proper handling of blood and body fluids.
  • Counsel and support mothers: Provide emotional support, explain test results, discuss treatment options, and encourage adherence to medical advice.
  • Facilitate referral and continuity of care: Refer women who test positive to appropriate healthcare providers for further evaluation, antiviral treatment when indicated, and ongoing follow-up.
  • Promote newborn follow-up: Ensure infants born to mothers with hepatitis B receive recommended immunization and follow-up testing according to national guidelines.
  • Advocate against stigma: Help reduce discrimination by providing respectful, confidential, and evidence-based care to people living with hepatitis.
  • Participate in community outreach: Use community education sessions and health campaigns to increase hepatitis awareness and encourage testing and vaccination.

By carrying out these roles, midwives contribute significantly to the global goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat while protecting the health of mothers, newborns, and families.

Breast feeding awareness week

1-7th August #WBW2026 will focus on tracking progress and evaluating breastfeeding impact on nutrition, food security and poverty reduction with highlights of successful implementation and lessons learnt. In 2026, the WBW-SDG campaign will enter its third cycle and will focus on tracking progress in Thematic Area 1: Nutrition, food security and poverty reduction. The campaign will measure progress, showcase global and regional statistics with highlights of what works and what needs further improvement.

Fernanda Gonzalez Ronquillo <[email protected]