Maternal and child mortality rates continue to impact on poor, disadvantaged communities across the globe. This is particularly evident in the isolated, rural regions of Afghanistan where access to basic healthcare is extremely limited.

Mahboba’s Promise is committed to reducing the unnecessary loss of life during birth through maternity health care training courses. The Australian Embassy in Afghanistan sponsored the first maternity healthcare training project at Panjshir Valley in 2013.

The most recent course was completed in the village of Danish Abad for the Yaftal Payan District, Badakhshan province. Through partnership with the Fell Foundation, the 30 participants now possess valuable and in demand health skills, making them an asset locally. The group learnt appropriate practices for pre-, during and post-natal health care, disease control workshops, educational information about health and hygiene practices and first aid training. This improves the overall health level of the entire community and reduces the prevalence of preventable diseases and deaths.

Furthermore, at the same time this goes a long way to countering the patriarchal assumptions, long-held in Afghanistan, about the value of educating women and girls generally.