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Honored by the National Midwifery Education Accreditation Board (NMEAB), the 18-month project focuses on training 50 rural health providers in maternal and newborn health services. Its primary goal is to improve and enhance the quality of clinical services in Parwan maternity wards. Midwives receive theoretical and practical training using Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) guidelines, ensuring consistency and high standards of practice.
“This is a wonderful achievement, and it is an honor to receive such a distinguished award,” said Richard Harman, IMC Country Director in Afghanistan. “IMC’s Parwan midwifery training program has excelled in its standards to provide outstanding training for Afghan midwives. Providing training to such a high standard results in the student midwives adopting this same ethos, which will inevitably lead to them providing care of the highest quality to the mothers and newborns of Afghanistan.”
Selected from communities and ethnic groups throughout the province, students live and work in IMC’s training center, located inside the Parwan province district hospital. A comfortable atmosphere, it includes well-furnished residential facilities and a child care center for those students with children. Once their training is complete, students will return home and work in their neighborhoods, serving an estimated 110,000 women throughout the province.
“Community Midwifery Education (CME) is extremely effective in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, because the programs are implemented in the district at the community level,” says Rose Mzava, an IMC midwife trainer. “CME students are recruited from the same community where one will work after successful completion. This means that more women in rural areas have been exposed to midwifery education and are now empowered in terms of education and employment.”
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By having a well-qualified midwife in the neighborhood, women will not only get timely health care, but also save money on transportation costs. They will no longer need to travel to other provinces, or even a district hospital, for regular gynecological check-ups or baby deliveries. In addition, personal security will be increased.
Destroyed by factional fighting with the Taliban, Parwan province is one of the most affected provinces in north Afghanistan. Due to a mountainous terrain, the majority of the population lives far from the city, in small communities spread throughout the region. Most people do not have access to medical facilities and it can take hours, or even days, to reach one. Many mothers and babies have died on their way to the hospital. However, a revival is currently underway, with new emphasis on construction, education, and medical care.
The success of IMC’s Parwan midwifery training program is seen as significant progress toward reducing maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan, but it is just a beginning.
“Approximately 2,000 graduates have completed the community midwifery education programs since they were implemented in 2003,” says Harman. “However, a recent needs assessment showed that between 15,000 and 20,000 midwives are needed to meet the requirements of Afghanistan’s women’s health services. Qualified female health workers are missing in over one third of all health facilities countrywide, thereby constraining women’s access to health care. That is why this program is so important—to continue essential training and provide good quality and accessible health care to women.”
The NMEAB award was based on assessments that follow the Standards-Based Management guidelines from the MoPH. As such, it speaks to IMC’s ability to work with local governments, which is critical to the long-term health of communities in need. It also highlights the potential for public-private partnerships to help improve and sustain quality health care services. IMC coordinates closely with the Provincial Health Directorate, provincial authorities, and other health organizations working in the area.
