The UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office presents a special "ICPD25: What's Changed?" panel discussion on midwifery, to commemorate the International Day of the Midwife 2019, recorded in Bangkok on April 30, on the sidelines of the APRO Workshop on Roadmaps to End Preventable Maternal Mortality in the 12 highest burden countries.

The panellists: 

• Caroline Homer, Co-Program Director, Maternal and Child Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne
• Catherine Breen Kamkong, Regional Adviser on Sexual and Reproductive Health, UNFPA Asia-Pacific
• Dr Sathya Doraiswamy, Chief of Health, UNFPA Bangladesh
• Rondi Anderson, International Midwifery Specialist, UNFPA Bangladesh

From the significant changes in midwifery practice across Asia-Pacific and globally since the ICPD Programme of Action in 1994 to the unfinished business in ending maternal mortality as we seek to accelerate ICPD and achieve the SDGs, our panelists share their experiences and contributions to UNFPA's Transformational Result of zero maternal deaths - including deeply-felt personal stories of what they've witnessed in the field, not only in numerous countries across Asia-Pacific but also through their work in other regions, including Africa.

This inspiring panel discussion explains what UNFPA and its partners have done to end maternal and newborn deaths, including in humanitarian settings such as Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, and to strengthen midwifery as a profession by working with governments and civil society partners to empower and elevate midwives in the sphere of public health.

We dedicate this edition of What's Changed? to all the midwives and skilled birth attendants the world over, resonating with this year's IDM theme: Midwives - Defenders of Human Rights!