Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Afghanistan, says that despite the widespread need for women’s healthcare services, most trained midwives in Afghanistan still do not have access to employment opportunities. Speaking on Wednesday, he said that 34,000 midwives had been trained in Afghanistan in recent years, but only 18 percent of them were currently employed. According to the UNFPA representative, around 90 percent of essential healthcare services for pregnant women are provided by midwives, yet a large portion of this skilled workforce remains unemployed. Ntiamoah praised the efforts of midwives and added that in many remote parts of Afghanistan, they are the only skilled health workers available to provide services for women. He stressed that supporting midwives is vital for reducing maternal mortality and saving the lives of women and newborns in Afghanistan. His remarks come as Afghanistan’s healthcare sector, particularly in remote areas, continues to face shortages of skilled midwives and limited access for pregnant women to basic healthcare services.
