Development Projects
Basic Services (including education and economic growth)
Humanitarian Assistance
Maternal Waiting Home in Kandahar Province *Current phase: 2007-2009
Project budget: $350,000
Project description:As part of a multi-donor initiative led by UNICEF and the Government of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health to reduce maternal mortality throughout Afghanistan, Canada has contributed to supporting the construction of a Maternal Waiting Home in Kandahar province.
Activities undertaken during this project included:
- Setting up the residential obstetric care facility.
- Providing maternal and neonatal health care training to health care workers.
- Delivering a safe motherhood information campaign.
Progress to date:
Kandahar’s new Maternal Waiting Home as it was being built.
© UNICEF/Shawali Popal
Fifteen per cent of all pregnant women will experience a life-threatening complication, but 99 per cent of deaths occur in poor countries. This is the family of Zakia, who died during her tenth delivery, in Afghanistan.
© UNICEF/Khemka
Dr. Samera is one of the few women doctors in Afghanistan. More women must be educated to help address the acute shortage of obstetric specialists in the country.
© UNICEF/Khemka
The Maternal Waiting Home project has achieved the following significant results to date:
- A Maternal Waiting Home was built.
- The facility was equipped with basic supplies such as patient beds and office equipment.
- Staff were recruited and trained.
