19 July 2006

Revitalizing Midwifery in Afghanistan

Partnership for a Better Life

 

The newly formed Afghan Midwives Association meets at Kabul's Rabia Balkhi Hospital. (REACH/Judith Schiffbauer)

Despite Afghanistan's extremely high maternal and child mortality rate, when in power the Taliban would not allow the training of new nurse-midwives. When the regime was ousted in 2001, only 537 skilled nurse-midwives -- or kabilaha -- remained in the country.

Rebuilding and revitalizing Afghanistan's midwifery practice after years of neglect requires unflagging energy and determination. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to significantly increase the number of trained midwives in the country and establish midwifery as a profession worthy of support and respect.

As chair of the new Afghan Midwives Association (AMA), Pashtoon Azfar is spearheading USAID's effort. Pashtoon is working with the national Institutes of Health Science in Kabul and with the provinces to rehabilitate their schools of midwifery and implement standardized midwifery curricula. She also conducts clinical training courses for the staff members of local, USAID-funded organizations, who then pass their expertise onto others.

At a recent AMA meeting chaired by Pashtoon at Rabia Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, 25 nurse-midwives, all currently practicing in Kabul clinics, health centers and hospitals, gathered to discuss ways to increase their numbers.

"Nurse-midwives in every Afghan province must learn of and be represented in the Association," said Pashtoon. "The greater our number, the greater good we can do for women, mothers, and families in this country."

Razia, attending an AMA meeting for the first time, echoed Pashtoon's view. "All of us need the support an organization like this can provide. Until now, we've had to work alone."

Working within a culture that has long excluded women from educational and professional opportunities, the Afghan Midwives Association, under Pashtoon's leadership and with the support of the Ministry of Public Health and USAID, is expanding its membership and working to qualify for membership in the International Association of Midwives.

"Afghanistan faces many problems," said Pashtoon. "The path will not be easy, but if we travel it together, giving strength to one another, we can do so much more to help solve them."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)