Kick off ‘Mothers’ night 2010’ (read more). (08-04-2010)

The ‘Mothers’ night’ campaign is focusing on raising awareness on the fact that every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Of all Millennium Development Goals, MDG5 (‘in 2015 fewer women die from pregnancy and childbirth’) is most behind on schedule.

HealthNet TPO is one of the twenty Dutch participants in the MDG5 Meshwork for Improving Maternal Health. HealthNet TPO works in Afghanistan, the country with the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, on improving access to maternal health care. Because Afghanistan has a severe shortage of midwives, HealthNet TPO is training community midwives since 2002. Currently 108 midwives are working in the communities they originally come from, providing maternal health care in areas where there was no care at all previously. Our education program has been recognized by the Afghan government and has become the national midwifery curriculum. Nowadays there are community midwifery schools in most provinces.

Besides the shortage of midwives and female health workers (Afghan women cannot be treated by male health workers), there are more socio-cultural barriers to access maternal health care. The influence of husbands and mothers-in-law is often determining. HealthNet TPO is trying to deal with these issues in an innovative way. ‘Our’ midwives are working in and with the communities on influencing behavior. When a pregnant woman nevertheless is unable to deliver in a health facility because of pressure from the family or other factors, midwives perform safe home deliveries.

Another example of working innovatively can be found in Uruzgan. Due to insecurity and absence of public health facilities in certain areas, the only accessible health care is that provided by(unregulated) private facilities. HealthNet TPO is trying to improve antenatal care here and convinces workers to refer pregnant women to a health centre with skilled health workers for delivery.