This blog is part of a series introducing the 2014 International Midwife Award sponsored by The International Confederation of Midwives and Save the Children. These blogs were adapted from the applications of finalists. The award winners will be announced at this year’s International Confederation of Midwives 30th Triennial Congress in Prague, Czech Republic on June 3rd.
Finalist, Njumbe Benedict Ngyia, is a man who has dedicated his life to the care of women and children. He has been a nurse-midwife since 1994 when he started taking an active role as primary midwife to provide prenatal, postnatal and birth care for local tribal populations in Cameroon. Njumbe founded Nightingale, a community-based birth clinic. He currently provides midwifery and nursing care to high-risk antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum women from ethnically diverse populations in the Sub-Sahara Africa.
"We must remove barriers to midwifery education in order to improve outcomes for mothers and babies." – Njumbe Benedict Ngyia.
Njumbe is also the Clinical Director of the first private “Clinical Training Center for Family Planning (CTCFP)” project authorized by the ministry of public health. The CTCFP is created to prepare graduate and undergraduate nurses and midwives to manage a woman’s normal obstetrical and gynecological needs during the childbearing years, manage the care of the normal newborns, and provide primary care to women. Njumbe has dedicated his whole life to saving the lives of women in Cameroon, a country with a high burden of maternal and neonatal deaths.
Njumbe is a positive role model-dynamic, motivated, passionate, and an agent for change. He encourages staff growth, mentorship, learning, and development. His leadership qualities and impact for newborn care has increased access to affordable disease prevention, counseling, family planning, gynecological and prenatal care for women and care after birth.
Congratulations to Njumbe Benedict Ngyia on his nomination to this year’s 2014 International Midwife Award.
Read other stories of finalists:
This blog was written by Njumbe’s nominator, Dr. Gwewasang Che Martin. Dr. Martin is an independent practicing clinician. For more than 20 years he has been working in public health sector on community based family planning/immunization integration, long acting family planning, and adolescent issues. He has also played a major role in bringing innovative approaches to increase access to modern contraceptive methods, especially LA/PMs, in the non-profit health sector in Cameroon.