Training Midwives in Afghanistan

When the mother of a newborn infant dies, the child has only one chance in four of surviving until its first birthday (UNICEF).

More than 50 percent of pregnant women in Afghanistan do not receive any antenatal care, and just 31 percent of deliveries are attended by a skilled professional (MoPH, Afghanistan).

The situation is particularly alarming for those living in poorer, rural areas, where as little as 3% of deliveries have been reported as having a skilled professional in attendance (Bartlett et al, 2017).

In rural Afghanistan, villages often remain cut off from the centre during the winter months, which hinders their access to health services. It is therefore critical to have a health provider in these villages, who is knowledgeable and capable of recognising and treating health problems.

This is why Action for Development (AfD) remains committed to training midwives in deprived areas of rural Afghanistan, and ultimately reducing the incidence of death and illness amongst mothers and infants.

In November 2017, AfD conducted the first round of its midwives capacity building programme in the province of Panjsher, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan, which had only one maternal health doctor in 2009 (UNICEF). Residents live in villages that are largely inaccessible by roads, and extreme weather frequently obstructs the few available transportation paths. Some women have to walk for hours, even days, to reach a clinic, and it can be difficult to transport emergency cases.

Twenty midwives from different districts of the province were brought together to the centre of Panjsher where they could enhance their knowledge on specific pregnancy and birth-related issues, including Eclampsia, Pre-eclampsia, managing third-stage labour, and newborn care.

The twenty midwives, who will be trained to become trainers in the following month, will pass on their new knowledge to eighty further midwives and community midwives.

We would like to thank you once again for supporting our project. Your support saves lives.

Best wishes,

The team at AfD

Links:

• http://www.action-for-development.org/index.php/en/midwives-training/