The 29th International Confederation of Midwives

The 29th International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Congress was held in Durban, South Africa between 19 and 23 June, and was attended by Alice Hall, Matt Cianfarani, and the BJM/AJM consultant editors, Tina Lavender and Yana Richens. This Congress was an historic affair as it was the first time that the ICM has been held in Africa and included the largest percentage of delegates from Africa of any other Congress.

With over 3500 delegates in attendance, the Congress kicked off on 18 June with the Midwives of the World 5 km March into Durban, and was followed by the Opening Ceremony which featured performances by some of South Africa’s best entertainers in music, song and dance.

Despite South African Customs choosing to keep 1,000 couriered copies of BJM for themselves, the team successfully manned the stall for 4 days, distributing copies of AJM which had luckily been printed in South Africa. AJM was incredibly well received and through educational grants we are excited to be able to sponsor hundreds of African midwives to have subscriptions to the journal.

The AJM was also delighted to host a special drinks reception for over 100 delegates. Moving tributes were paid by Dr Grace Omoni, Rose Mlay and Dr Christina Mudokwenyu-Rawdon to AJM’s Editor-in-Chief, Professor Helen Lugina, who recently passed away. The drinks reception was a great opportunity to meet many midwives and health professionals and it was wonderful to be joined by so many familiar and new faces.

On Tuesday 21 June many people attended the Gala National Evening—a 5-course South African meal and entertainment accompanied by a fusion of African dance. It was a fantastic night for meeting and socialising, and for feeling the South African vibe.

 

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