Training Midwives in Afghanistan

Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places to give birth. There are an estimated 396 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births there. A major contributing factor is that two out of every three deliveries take place at home, without a skilled birth attendant. Mothers and infants at heightened risk are those in rural areas, where access to healthcare is extremely limited.

Over the past four years, our midwifery project has been significantly contributing to the professional training of certified midwives in rural areas of Afghanistan. So far, we have trained 330 midwives. The course provides two weeks of comprehensive training for midwives to enhance their 18-month basic training so that they can provide quality health care to mothers and infants. Selected midwives are intensively trained to become midwife trainers. Each trainer passes on their knowledge to five other community midwives; a cost-effective approach to knowledge-sharing.

We now have the results from the project evaluation. Interviews with trained midwives, Ministry of Public Health representatives (MoPH), master trainers, and patients revealed that, overall, the training was well-received, and resulted in improvements in the professional capacity of midwives. Suggestions included having a longer, more intense training period, and adding new training topics. These suggestions will be incorporated into our future training programs.

Examination of regional statistics pre- and post-training showed an increase in the number of pregnancy-related consultations, pre- and post-natal visits, deliveries in health facilities, and family planning consultations. Maternal and infant mortality rates were constant throughout this period. Taken together, these findings indicate that our midwifery program is effective at improving the capacity of midwives, and, with continuation, has the potential to contribute to a reduction in maternal and infant mortality rates in Afghanistan. For those who are interested, the evaluation report will soon be available on our website.

We would like to thank you for the support you have given to this project. With further support, we can continue to improve the care that mothers and infants receive in Afghanistan, and give them a chance to survive and thrive.

Kind regards,

The team at AfD

Links:

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