Yemen – Where Giving Birth is an Extreme Sport!
Ladies and gentlemen, gather around for another episode of “International Aid Saves the Day!” This time, the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) has a ground-breaking solution to Yemen’s collapsing healthcare system: midwives! who needs functioning hospitals, proper medical equipment, or trained doctors when you can train a handful ofyoung women to singlehandedly fight maternal mortality?
The Heroine We Don’t Deserve
Meet Rokia Dukhna, a determined 22-year-old who decided to become a midwife after watching the healthcare system fail her mother. “My mom lost her baby because there were no trained professionals around, so I figured—why not take matters into my own hands?” said Ms. Dukhna, presumably while dodging power outages, economic collapse, and civil war on her way to class.
But don’t worry, the UNFPA has got this covered! They’ve set up seven training institutes across a war-torn country where 40% of healthcare facilities are basically abandoned. Because if there’s one thing that can solve decades of systemic collapse, it’s an ambitious young woman with a medical coat and a dream!
Midwives: The Swiss Army Knives of Healthcare
Apparently, midwives can do everything! According to research, midwives could prevent two-thirds of all maternal and new-born deaths, and they can deliver 90% of all essential healthcare services. This means that, with enough investment, they will soon be performing open-heart surgery, curing cancer, and maybe even fixing the economy. Who knew the answer to global health crises was just a well-trained midwife away?
A Brighter Future (Assuming There’s Electricity)
By the end of 2024, 139 midwives had graduated and were shipped off to rural areas, where they bravely took on their roles as Yemen’s overworked, underpaid, and under-equipped last hope. Meanwhile, over 440,000 women received midwifery services last year, which is impressive, considering that they had to work with shortages in medicine, electricity, and general infrastructure.
One recent graduate, Naseem, had to battle both family objections and financial struggles to complete her training. “I was the sole provider for my family, working as a teacher, but my dream of becoming a doctor never left me,” she said, before realizing that training as a midwife is much cheaper than medical school and a far more realistic option in a country where the economy is held together with duct tape and prayer.
Investing in Women… Because Everything Else is Too Expensive
According to the UNFPA, “Investing in women is investing in society!” And by “investing,” they mean “giving them a few years of training and then sending them off to deliver babies in crisis zones with a pat on the back.” Because, obviously, the best way to empower women is to give them an impossible job and then expect them to fix a broken system.
So, let’s hear it for Yemen’s midwives—armed with their medical coats, their courage, and the unshakable belief that they can compensate for the lack of a functioning healthcare system! Who needs hospitals, doctors, or economic stability when you have the power of determination?
Thank you, UNFPA, for proving once again that when the world ignores a crisis long enough, it eventually becomes an inspirational story!
