Kabul, Afghanistan - The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) held the first Respectful Maternity Care National Planning Workshop to foster a shared understanding of the problem of disrespect and abuse in maternity care. Ministry officials engaged partners and stakeholders to mutually identify mechanisms to promote Respectful Maternity Care approaches within existing services for mothers and children. The workshop was attended by nearly 70 participants from the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, as well as professional associations, donors, international and local non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, USAID’s HEMAYAT- Mothers and Children Thrive Afghanistan project, and other stakeholders in the field of maternal, newborn, and child health.

Respectful Maternity Care is considered to be an essential component of quality maternal and newborn health services. The approach helps to reduce or eliminate disrespect and abuse by healthcare workers during birth. Disrespect and abuse are known to be a significant barrier to increasing the number of women who choose to deliver at a facility. Disrespect and abuse may include care given without providing the patient with a sense of dignity, without consent, without confidentiality, or with discrimination, abandonment or withholding of care and/or physical abuse. These experiences may constitute a violation of a woman’s basic human rights, and a dishonor to the trust women place in caregivers and the health system. It is critical for both public and private healthcare providers to treat mothers with respect and to consider their emotional and psychological needs as part of broader efforts to ensure quality care.

H.E. Dr. Ahmad Jan Naim, Deputy Minister of Public Health, opened the workshop by emphasizing that advancing respectful care is a priority for the Ministry of Public Health in efforts to increase facility birth and the delivery of quality services, as well as to ensure respect of women’s rights.

Mr. Greg Adams, USAID’s Director of the Office of Health and Nutrition, said that USAID is committed to improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. USAID will continue to support the Ministry of Public Health in building on the progress to date and accelerating efforts to promote Respectful Maternity Care approaches within existing services for women, newborns, and children.

The implementation of the Respectful Maternity Care package will be supported by the MoPH in collaboration with the USAID-funded HEMAYAT project along with multiple partners.

Ministry of Public Health holds Respectful Maternity Care Workshop (Dari)