In wake of deteriorating health system, Norwegian organization opens first maternity clinic in Afghanistan

The Norwegian organization “Norwegian Afghanistan Committee” announced the opening of a specialized maternity health center in the city of Gardiz in eastern Afghanistan to save women from the dangers of childbirth, amidst poor healthcare services in the country.

The director of the center, Nasreen Oryakhel, stated in a press statement monitored by Shia News Agency: “The maternity clinic opened by the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee in the small mountainous city will help many Afghan women living in remote areas of the country.”

She added that “the organization aims to open similar clinics in 4 other provinces in Afghanistan,” emphasizing the importance of such clinics as “one woman dies every two hours during childbirth.”

Oryakhel pointed out that this step “aims to reduce deaths in Afghanistan, one of the ten countries with the highest rates of maternal deaths during childbirth.”

The latest figures provided by the World Health Organization indicate the death of 638 women per 100,000 live births, indirectly indicating significant disparities between urban and rural areas.

The director of the Norwegian organization, Terje Waterdal, said: “Maternal deaths in remote areas can reach 5,000 women per 100,000 live births.”

He added: “There are still places where men carry their pregnant wives on their shoulders and cross mountains, but women die before reaching the hospital.”