Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday commemorated the International Day of Midwife under the theme of ‘Women and Newborns: the Heart of Midwifery’ in Kabul.
The MoPH says that Afghanistan is still one of the 73 countries which have the highest maternal and newborn deaths in the world.
According to estimation of the MoPH, one out of 50 women die during pregnancy or child birth in Afghanistan and the problems are mostly due to lack of access to a midwife, and delivering at home.
“Midwives play significant role in delivering healthcare servers for pregnant and newborn babies and they can play key role in reducing maternal and newborn deaths,” said Najia Tariq, Deputy Minister of Public Health.
“Maternal and newborn mortality have decreased in Afghanistan in a very large level, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and newborn deaths in the world. Therefore we need more educated midwives in this country”, said Bannet Ndyanabangi,UNFPA Representative for Afghanistan.
According to World Health Organization, Afghanistan currently has 3500-4000 midwives and it needs 12,174 midwifes in the next five years to meet 80% of need ,and for 100% Afghanistan needs 15,217 midwives by 2030.
For the first time the International Day of the Midwife commemorated on the 5th of May 1992 to honor their tiredness services for mothers and babies.
