Study Finds Public Health Improving as Afghans Celebrate International Midwives’ Day
Johns Hopkins University has released a study that charts a marked decrease in infant mortality in Afghanistan. Improvements in women's access to medical care in the last five years have led to 40,000 fewer infant deaths a year, a drop of 18%. The study attributed the lower infant mortality to the expansion of health clinics to rural areas, improvements in natal care, an increase in trained health workers, and improved coverage of the population with basic vaccinations against measles, polio and tetanus.
According to the preliminary results of this study, the infant mortality rate has declined to about 135 per 1,000 live births in 2006, from an estimated 165 per 1,000 in 2001. The researchers also found that the number of women receiving prenatal care increased to 30% in 2006 from from 5% in 2003. Nineteen percent of pregnant women were attended by a skilled health worker last year, up from only 5% in 2003.
The researchers "found improvements in virtually all aspects of care in almost every province," the Public Health Ministry and World Bank said in a joint statement on the findings.
"Despite many challenges, there are clear signs of health sector recovery and progress throughout the country," said Public Health Minister Dr. Syed Muhammad Amin Mohammad Fatimi.
The ministry is in the process of establishing more clinics, expanding community midwife training, and deploying more mobile medical teams to remote rural areas. The number of health centers in Afghanistan has increased from 300 before 2002 to approximately 1200. This month Minister Dr. Fatimi announced the construction of more than 600 health centers, and on May 10 Afghanistan’s first HIV/AIDS diagnostic center opened in Mazar-I-Sharif with the support of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Health officials are encouraging residents to seek HIV testing and treatment at the center.
International Midwives' Day was observed in Afghanistan on May 5, with calls for the health professionals to reach out to all women. Minister Fatimi opened the ceremony by announcing that more midwives would be trained in Afghanistan and abroad at workshops in the United States, Turkey, Britain, Pakistan and Kenya.
The Ministry announced that 3,000 midwives were currently working throughout Afghanistan, but estimated that another 8,000 would be necessary to meet the growing needs of the Afghan women. Currently, 500 more midwives are undergoing training.
Despite the progress already made, many challenges still remain in rebuilding Afghanistan’s public health infrastructure. One in 60 Afghan women dies of pregnancy-related causes, giving the country one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates, second only to Sierra Leone.
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