Training Midwives in Afghanistan

 In 2001, more than 1,600 Afghan mothers were dying per 100,000 live births. Through the support of maternal health and the training of skilled midwives, the country has reduced the rate to about 640 deaths. There is clear evidence that an increased number of trained midwives is directly correlated with a decrease in maternal and child mortality. This is why AfD is dedicated to expanding the capacity of midwives across Afghanistan to drastically reduce maternal and child mortality while also addressing the current employment stress facing Afghan women.

We are happy to announce the continuation of our Midwifery training initiative. In August, AfD conducted a widely successful training session. 60 midwives received ToT training, who then (following our cascade model) trained an additional 180 midwives. We continue to partner with the Midwifery School of Geneva on production of training modules to ensure the midwives are prepared comprehensively to support mothers. As the scope of our training increases, we hope to have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of mothers across Afghanistan. 

AfD has positioned itself within the community as an organisation helping people to achieve better health and get the most out of health service delivery. Through our meetings with community elders and other stakeholders, we ensure that the credibility of the actions we perform goes back to us, but also to our donors who support us. 

Many of the participants have truly appreciated the donor contributions towards building the capacity of Afghan health care personnel. On the other hand, participants will be able to improve the knowledge of their partners and colleagues on the issues they have learned. They will introduce into their health facilities the standards for the management of diseases that they have learned to control. Their work will still be supervised and monitored by the midwives who received the ToT. Gaps and weak points will be shared with the management staff in the field so that they can be exploited in due course. Midwives are recognized as health professionals who support and provide necessary services to women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. They are also the closest health professionals to detect complications and provide preventive measures and medical care. These services are essential especially in rural areas where female gynaecologists are rarely available. The government of Afghanistan and global health organisations are realising and confirming the fact that Afghanistan should have nearly 3500 midwives trained in the next five years to cover at least 85% of pregnancies. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests a ratio of one trained midwife per 175 pregnant women, currently this ratio in Afghanistan is 0.1 per 1,000 pregnant women (rather than the required 5.7 midwives). 

With the take over of the de facto authorities the roles of women in the society got limited and mostly cut. Particularly nowadays since the only area where women could have a role is the health system, this training has given hope and moral support to 180 young women and their families.

AfD continues to support initiatives regarding maternal health, however this is not without difficulty. Following the regime change in Afghanistan, the employment situation of women has become even more precarious. Midwifery remains one of the only employment possibilities for Afghan women and as most literate and educated people have left Afghanistan, the time for action is now.