For decades, Afghanistan has had among the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 there were only 1,000 midwives working in the country. In response, the required length of midwifery training reduced from 3 years to 18 months, which resulted in midwives feeling ill-equipped to handle abnormal deliveries. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, midwives are often the only qualified health workers in rural communities, and represent one of few opportunities women have to interact with people outside their home. The need for qualified, confident and well-trained midwives is critical to saving the lives of the women and children of Afghanistan.

One Day’s Wages partnered with Action for Development, a nonprofit organization founded by Afghan professionals, to reduce the incidence and prevalence of maternal mortality in Afghanistan by increasing midwives’ knowledge and confidence. Our partnership supported the construction of a new Comprehensive Health Center in Kabul and the launch of an inpatient midwife-led maternity clinic that delivered services to 830 women in the first 9 months of operations. In addition, our partnership supported a 10-day training program for midwives that combined classroom knowledge with hands-on practice. Participants gained a 46% increase in confidence and understanding of midwifery topics as a result of the training, and 100% passed the final test! The 41 midwives who completed the training each shared their learnings with another 2-3 midwives.