Hilma Shikwambi, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)

Hilma is a midwife, founder and Chairperson of the Independent Midwives Association of Namibia. Currently, she is a Board member of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) representing Anglophone Africa. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing and a public health postgraduate diploma in maternal and child health. Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree focusing on stillbirths.

With close to 20 years of clinical, education, regulation and technical expertise as a midwife, Hilma is a member of the Nursing Council of Namibia and serves on a ministerial-appointed committee that audits maternal and newborn death, stillbirths and maternal near misses at the national level of the Ministry of Health. She has expertise as a project manager, public health leader and senior technical advisor in designing, implementing and monitoring of programmes relating to maternal and child health, health system strengthening, primary health care, and sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries. As an Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care master trainer and course director, Hilma has a strong professional local and international network. To support midwifery and midwives within Namibia, she has built strong relationships with various partners including the Government of Namibia, United Nations agencies, development partners, academia, civil society organizations and communities. She advocates for resources for midwifery, the importance of midwifery education and regulation, and creating an enabling environment for midwives. Internationally, Hilma is also a member of the Country Implementing Group of Ending Preventable Maternal Deaths committee.