The Ministry of Public Health announced on April 24 that it has advanced the validation process for certifying the labor competencies of traditional midwives and herbalists in Napo. The initiative is carried out through the National Directorate of Intercultural Health and Equity, along with several organizations including the Provincial Directorate of Health in Napo, the Council for Equality of Peoples and Nationalities, the Ministry of Labor, and Amawtay Wasi University.
This certification effort aims to formally recognize and strengthen ancestral medicine within Ecuador’s health system. It aligns with constitutional mandates and an intercultural approach to healthcare.
In Napo province, there are currently 511 individuals recognized for their ancestral knowledge, including 302 traditional midwives. Of these, 153 are integrated into first-level health facilities to ensure culturally relevant healthcare services.
The recent event focused on technically validating job competency profiles as a necessary step before full certification. This mechanism provides formal acknowledgment for community members’ skills and experience while enhancing their collaboration with public health services.
Edwin Morocho, National Director of Intercultural Health and Equity, said during the event that this initiative reflects “the vision of building a health system with intercultural relevance according to Ecuador’s diversity as a plurinational and intercultural state.” Morocho also said that “certification by competencies does not replace existing institutional recognition but strengthens it by providing technical support to ancestral knowledge and promoting its continuity.”
Traditional midwives play an important role in supporting pregnancy care, childbirth assistance, and maternal-newborn care within their communities from a culturally sensitive perspective. Their work also connects with Ecuador’s national strategy against malnutrition among pregnant women and children under two years old by emphasizing community participation.
With these actions, the Ministry reaffirms its commitment to inclusive healthcare centered on people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
