The focus of the project is a two-year training program for midwives and further training opportunities for predominantly female health staff in western Afghanistan. The overall aim is to improve skills and capacity build health workers to be able to respond to the dynamic health requirements of the population. In a country that has one of the highest maternal mortality rates worldwide, this project makes an important contribution in advancing medical care for women and children. At the same time, this project promotes women in the public health sector who are still severely underrepresented in relation to male health workers. In cooperation with the Afghan public health department, gaps in knowledge and learning needs of doctors, nurses, anaesthetists were jointly identified, and tailor-made refresher courses were developed and offered to approximately 300 women and 60 health workers in the health care sector.

One special feature: The 30 young midwife students come from the most remote and difficult-to-access communities in the provinces of Herat and Baghdis. After successfully completing their midwifery training by the Afghan health authority, they can look forward to secure employment in their home communities by local Public Health Department.