Address from the President

Dr. Shirley Curtis – The Bahamas

It is an exciting time to be addressing the midwives of the Caribbean. The Caribbean Regional midwives Association (CRMA) is an association organized to unite the midwives of the Caribbean. Our aim is for our members to provide excellent midwifery care to the childbearing family and to advance midwifery practice in the Caribbean.  Our Mission is to provide and promote high quality standards of midwifery care through advocacy, education, research, practice & leadership.

Having been established in 2012 we are in our eight year of existence- still babies, but we have come a long way. Since our inception we have been involved in numerous projects around the Caribbean that has helped to promote education and high-quality standards throughout the region.  Programmes such as Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) Trainer of Trainers, Curriculum Mapping, Competency Based Education (CBE) & Evaluation master trainers, training of Zika coaches, Young Midwifery Leaders (YML) programme, and Respectful Maternity Care (RMC). Currently we are presenting educational webinars on topics related to COVID-19.

We would like to thank the supporting agencies who have assisted us financially and with technical support to expand our reach and accomplish our goals. The agencies include: United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Johns Hopkins Program on International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego), Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Applying Science to Strengthen & Improve Systems (ASSIST). We would not be able to function with out the support of our Ministries of Health, Chief Nurses and managers who allowed their midwives to participate and disseminate the training.

In this year 2020, we are celebrating the year of the midwife under the International Confederation of Midwives’ theme: Celebrate, demonstrate, mobilize and unite: our time is now. This is also a year of a global pandemic, COVID-19, where midwives and other healthcare workers are being celebrated and recognized as essential workers. As midwives of the Caribbean let us unite in the workplace, in our local associations, in our regional association and our international association. Let us raise our voices, “strike while the iron is hot” and demonstrate that we are essential to the care that is given in maternal, newborn, and child health and sexual and reproductive in our communities. The time is NOW!

The Caribbean Regional Midwives Association is moving from strength. We have an energetic, committed executive team and committee members who work together to ensure that the goals of the association are achieved.

Please navigate our web page learn what our association is about, and if you are not involved, find out how to get involve as an association or an individual; Contact us, Mobilize, time is NOW!

Midwives saves lives

Shirley Curtis, PhD, RM, MScN,RN