The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), an accredited non-governmental organisation representing midwives and midwifery to organisations worldwide, has officially made a decision to accredit three centres of excellence for midwifery education in the Lao PDR on 07 January 2023.

This follows an in-country visit to assess the three institutions in second half of 2022. The three institutes are the Colleges of Health Sciences in Champasak, Luang Prabang and Xiengkhouang Provinces. The colleges have met 35 out of a total of 37 Standards of ICM, with only two Standards partially met. It was a tremendous achievement by the colleges.

ICM’s Midwifery Education Accreditation Programme (MEAP) is based on international best practices in midwifery education and accreditation. Its goal is to evaluate pre-service midwifery education programs against the ICM Global Standards. The MEAP is also a benchmark for midwifery education programs that seek to meet international standards, and Lao PDR is the first country in ASEAN to obtain such accreditation.

Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, Minister of Health congratulated all three colleges on their efforts to obtain International Accreditation. “The three Colleges received their National Accreditation last year, and their goal to achieve the MEAP status is also fulfilled. For Lao PDR, MEAP will help ensure consistency in midwifery education and identify best practices and gaps for partners/implementers to provide more focused, effective, and sustainable support for high-quality midwifery education.”

Source: Lao News Agency