Midwives count: Achieving effective use of a scarce resource

Shortages and maldistribution of human resources for health (HRH) have been firmly on the global agenda since the middle of the last decade, and in recent months midwives have taken their rightful place at the front and centre of this agenda. This HRH challenge bridges all continents, and was fixed in a global perspective by the World Health Organisation in 2006, which devoted the whole of the World Health Report to human resources for health (HRH) issues (WHO, 2006).