13 October 2010 - Twenty-three trained midwives graduated on Monday from the Badakshan Community Midwifery Education School, at a ceremony that was attended by Government health officials and donor agencies’ representatives.

This is the fourth batch of students to complete the 18-month long course in Faizabad, the capital of the north-eastern Badakshan province.

In all, 88 professional and educated midwives have graduated from the Badakhshan Community Midwifery Education School since its establishment in 2005.

The object of the programme is to train and recruit community midwives in remote and rural areas and to improve the skills and competence of the midwifery education programme in Badakhshan.

“According to a UNICEF study in 2002, the maternity mortality rate was very high at the country level,” said Sayram Sadat, Director of the Community Midwifery Education School in Faizabad.

Sadat added that although they do not have specific statistics, indicators now show a 50 per cent reduction in the maternity mortality rate in Badakhshan, as compared to previous years.

“Within 18 months we learned about pre and post-delivery health care, techniques of safe delivery, nutrition, breast feeding, health care in the pregnancy period, birth complications and family planning,” said Naseema Hazeem, who topped the examination.

“We also have the responsibility of public health education. We educate our clients at the clinics and also go from house-to-house and spread health information,” said Mastoora Khalili, who came in second.

The Ministry of Public Health with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Health Services Support Project (HSSP) and with technical support from Agha Khan Health Services implements the programme.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) donated 52 midwifery kits at the cost of US $260,000 to the graduated midwives so far.

By Shamsuddin Hamedi, UNAMA