Soroti: The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) joined midwives in celebrating the International Day of Midwives today. The event, which took place at Soroti Sports Ground, aimed to honor midwives for the crucial role they play in saving and transforming lives of mothers and children.

Speaking at the event, NIRA Executive Director Ms. Rosemary Kisembo praised midwives for their commitment to the well-being of mothers and newborns. She emphasized the importance of birth registration and urged midwives to become child registration ambassadors in their communities. She appealed them, to encourage mothers to register their births promptly, to avoid loss of vital information.

“We are proud to work alongside midwives in our efforts to ensure that every child is registered at birth,” Kisembo said. “Midwives are often the first healthcare professionals to attend to newborns, and they play a critical role in promoting birth registration and ensuring that children have access to their basic rights and entitlements.”

As part of its efforts to promote birth registration, NIRA conducted an express child registration exercise during the event. All of NIRA’s services were provided on-site, enabling parents to register their children quickly and easily.

The International Day of Midwives is celebrated annually on May 5th to highlight the vital role midwives play in maternal and child health. This year’s theme, “Together again: from evidence to reality” emphasized the importance of investing in midwives to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.

NIRA’s participation in the event reflects its commitment to ensuring that every child is registered at birth and has access to their basic rights and entitlements. The Authority remains committed to working alongside midwives and other stakeholders to promote birth registration and improve maternal and child health outcomes across Uganda.