Merlin’s mission is to end the loss of life caused by a lack of effective health care, to help communities set up medical services for the long term and train nurses and other health workers.
I was interested in Merlin’s work in Afghanistan, and their midwife training program for girls from inaccessible villages where there is no health provision. The 18 month residential course attempts to change the current situation where at least 36 percent of the population lives in absolute poverty; female life expectancy is 44; at least six out of 10 women are illiterate; maternal mortality is 1,600 per 100,000 live births; a woman dies every 27 minutes from pregnancy-related complications ; only 16 per cent of deliveries are attended by a trained midwife and 78 per cent of women had never even heard of family planning. As midwives the girls will have no shortage of work as Afghanistan has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, with an average birth rate of almost seven children per woman.
Since 2004, Merlin’s Community Midwife Education programs have supported the training of 134 midwives in Badahshan and 94 in Takhar province . They are bringing essential maternal and newborn healthcare to 84,000 women in rural villages.
I was overwhelmed at the commitment of the young women to their studies and their determination to change the lives of the women in their communities.
