With the sudden withdrawal of foreign troops, the lives of millions of Afghans, especially women and girls, were thrown into chaos.
“If I had left, neither the mother nor the child would have died,” said Ms. Ahmadi. “I was worried, but I couldn’t leave because people needed our help. I stayed because people, especially pregnant women, needed my support.”
Clinics are closed
Public health workers have been greatly affected by the hospital takeover, as hospitals and clinics have been forced to close or become inactive and their staff can no longer work safely.
Pregnant women were worried about where to give birth as health facilities were closed, Ms. Ahmadi told UNFPA, the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency that supports efforts across Afghanistan.
“Therefore, I did not close the family health center,” he said.
Seeking competent health care
One of the women who sought help at the Ahangaran clinic was 29-year-old Sugra, who was nine months pregnant.
“A few days before, I went to the provincial hospital in Bamyan City, but the staff told me that they are not sure if they will remain open for the next few days,” said Sughra.
Unsure of the availability of skilled care in the city and stressed by the ongoing security situation, she decided to go to her father’s house, as soon as she heard about the early abortion.
Humanitarians at work
Accompanied by her husband and sister-in-law, Sughra endured a three-hour truck ride on rough roads to reach her father’s village.
“I was afraid I was going to give birth in a truck,” she recalled.
A few days later, Sughra started experiencing pain and asked to be taken to the family health center, which is supported by UNFPA and is the only facility available in the area.
“We arrived early in the morning, but I worked all day,” he said.
She gave birth to a healthy baby boy without complications at 2 pm on 19 August 2021 – World Humanitarian Day.
“The work was difficult, but I was happy that we managed everything from the family health center,” recalls Sugra. “If the clinic wasn’t there in those days, who knows what would have happened to me.”
© UNFPA Afghanistan
Mariza Ahmadi worked as a midwife at the UNFPA-supported Ahangaran family health center in Bamyan province for four years.
Commitment to one’s country
After a safe delivery is the courage of the midwife.
“That was a difficult situation, but this clinic did not close for a single day during those times,” said Ms. Ahmadi.
“I was also afraid, but if I had left, all our efforts to prevent the death of mothers and newborns would have ended.
Against the odds
Afghanistan has long had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with one woman dying every hour from pregnancy and childbirth complications – deaths that could largely be prevented with skilled maternity care.
Now, with the de facto authorities severely curtailing women’s ability to work and travel unaccompanied by a male guardian, the situation looks dire for the women and girls – and future generations – of Afghanistan.
Ms. Ahmadi assisted three other midwives that week, serving women who had been displaced from other districts in Bamyan province.
“I have been working here for four years, and there has never been a death of a mother in this clinic.”
Obstetric emergencies
Currently funded by the United States and previously by Italy, the Ahangaran family health house provides people living in isolated communities with life-saving health services, despite its remote location in Bamyan province.
Midwives can meet up to 90 percent of the need for essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health needs, but there is a global shortage of approximately 900,000 trained midwives.
Afghanistan urgently needs 18,000 more to meet the need for skilled birth attendants, a lack of which can endanger lives and undermine the physical autonomy of women and girls to a large extent.
© UNFPA Afghanistan
Sugra endured a three-hour journey riding in the back of a truck on rough roads to reach the local health center and deliver a baby boy.
Health homes help, one child at a time
By 2021, UNFPA was supporting just over 70 family health houses in Afghanistan, a number that – despite a very challenging operating environment – has grown sixfold to 477 today.
As of 2021, these clinics have helped more than five million Afghans access essential health services, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
Back home, Sughra’s son, Farhad, recently celebrated his third birthday.
“When he grows up,” said Sughra, “I hope he can learn to build a better future for himself and other people around him.”
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