Cardiff University Celebrates Prestigious WHO Re-Designation as a Collaborating Centre for Midwifery Development

Cardiff University’s School of Healthcare Sciences marked a historic milestone with a celebratory event on December 6, 2024, recognising its third consecutive re-designation as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Midwifery Development.

The celebration, held at the School of Healthcare Sciences’ new Heath Park West campus, brought together prominent figures from the global and regional healthcare landscape, underlining the Centre’s importance in advancing midwifery education and development worldwide.

The event, attended by leading voices in midwifery and healthcare, showcased Cardiff University’s vital role in supporting the WHO’s mission to strengthen midwifery across the European Region and beyond. Among the distinguished guests were Margrieta Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Advisor for WHO Europe; Professor Sue Tranka, Chief Nursing Officer for Wales; Karen Jewell, Chief Midwifery Officer for Wales; and Mervi Jokinnen of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). They were joined by Dr. Nisor Becia, Honorary Consul of Romania in Wales, and several consultant midwives and healthcare leaders from partner University Health Boards.

The event also served as the inaugural public engagement for Professor Kate Button, the new Head of the School of Healthcare Sciences, who expressed pride in the Centre’s accomplishments and reaffirmed its commitment to global health goals.

A Global Legacy of Impact

The WHOCC at Cardiff University is one of only two such centres globally dedicated exclusively to midwifery development, alongside the University of Chile. This redesignation marks Cardiff University’s continued leadership in promoting midwifery excellence through evidence-based education, strategic collaboration with global partners and the Centre’s work to strengthen Midwifery pre-service education and training across the European Region.

Grace Thomas, Director of Cardiff University’s WHOCC for Midwifery Development, and Kerry Phillips, Deputy Director and incoming Director, led the event, underscoring the Centre’s vital contributions to maternal and newborn health. Professor Stephen Riley, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Biomedical and Life Sciences at Cardiff University, also highlighted the Centre’s critical role in strengthening Wales’ position as a global leader in healthcare innovation.

Notable work from the previous designation periods includes the development of the Midwifery Assessment Tool for Education (MATE) that was co-created between Cardiff University’s WHOCC and midwives from the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Published in 2020 by the WHO with updates underway for 2025, the tool aims to support WHO Member States wishing to develop midwifery education to strengthen the midwifery workforce.

Transforming Lives Through Midwifery

Grace Thomas, current Director of the Centre, emphasized the transformative power of midwifery, stating:

The work of our WHOCC focuses on midwifery development, specifically pre-service midwifery education which is vitally important for all countries. We have clear evidence that Midwives who are educated to international standards, licensed and regulated to practice to the full scope of midwifery practice as defined by WHO and ICM, and working as part of multi-disciplinary teams, can avert 80% of maternal deaths. So, supporting countries to develop curricula for midwifery education that is taught by midwifery faculty is an essential step to ensuring health for all.

She highlighted ongoing initiatives, including updates to MATE for 2025 publication and the ongoing work to implement the tool in more countries, contribution to the Building Better Together EURO Regional Roadmap for nursing and midwifery, and supporting the WHO Country Office in Romania with work to enhance newborn care and skin-to-skin contact at birth, as well as the continued work to educate current and future cohorts of student midwives – the future of the midwifery workforce.

Kerry Phillips, Deputy and incoming Director added:

It is an honour for our team to be designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre in recognition of our experience and expertise in midwifery and, specifically, pre-registration midwifery education. The opportunity to collaborate and support countries in the development of midwifery as a profession is vitally important, as midwifery can improve the safety and quality of childbirth and save lives of mothers and babies. Providing advice, support and expertise to generate and disseminate evidence-based practice is our key role as a WHOCC.

Looking ahead

As the School of Healthcare Sciences embarks on its next four-year term as a WHO Collaborating Centre, its re-designation underscores its dedication to improving global maternal and newborn health outcomes. The event’s success reflected not only the Centre’s past achievements but also its vision for a future where midwifery plays a pivotal role in achieving health equity worldwide.