Health
Community midwives for remote Bamyan
Working with the provincial health department, we trained 24 midwives from remote districts and placed them in health posts close to their own villages.
- Location
- Waras, Panjab and Yakawlang districts, Bamyan
- Duration
- Sep 1, 2020 - Mar 31, 2022
- People reached
- 9,800
- Budget
- $212,000
Why this project
In the remote districts of Bamyan, most women gave birth at home without a trained attendant. The nearest hospital was hours away by road, and in winter many roads closed completely.
What we did
Communities nominated young women from their own villages to train as midwives. The course combined classroom teaching with supervised practice at the provincial hospital. We covered tuition, housing and a monthly stipend, so that students from poor families could take part.
After graduation, each midwife was placed at a health post near her village, with a delivery room, equipment and a supply of essential medicines. A senior midwife from our team visits every health post each month.
What we learned
Midwives who came from the same villages were trusted quickly, and women came to them early in pregnancy. Keeping senior supervision in place after graduation has been the key to quality care.
