May 2017—Health care professionals and the general public recognize the need to invest in human capital in Afghanistan’s medical sector, including training qualified staff to use medical technology. And internships are giving Afghan women the work experience and skills they need to operate medical machinery and find health care jobs.

Ghada* is a 22-year-old from Sheberghan city, located in the northern Afghan province of Jawzjan. A recent graduate from a local health science institute, she was unable to find work because she lacked practical experience. After being accepted into USAID’s Promote: Women in the Economy (WIE) internship program, she and four other women were placed as midwife-nurse interns at the Jawzjan Al Hayat Hospital in Sheberghan.

Ghada excelled in her work and communicated well with female patients. She received on-the-job training from Toshiba to operate the computerized tomography (CT) scan machine, which produces multiple X-ray images of bones, blood vessels, and soft tissues inside the body. Ghada is now the first woman at the hospital able to operate the CT scan.

“I notice that more women are coming to the hospital as compared to when only men were operating the machines; female patients will naturally be more comfortable with a female medical assistant,” says Ghada. “As more women learn medical technology skills, this will prompt more women to get the medical attention they need.”

The Jawzjan Al Hayat Hospital is committed to offering permanent employment to well-deserved interns provided by the internship program.

“My WIE internship was the springboard I needed to enter the job market, and proved I had the skills needed to provide medical assistance, help others, and serve my community. There are thousands of other Afghan girls like me. We must study hard and then work to support our health care system,” says Ghada.

Promote: Women in the Economy, which runs from 2015 to 2019, works to place 21,000 women aged 18-30 into new or better jobs. To date, more than 6,600 women have enrolled in job placement services, and more than 200 employers have recruited over 1,070 interns, apprentices and employees.

*Many Afghans use only one name.

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