Midwifery graduation ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan
13 April 2005
With family, teachers, officials and other guests in attendance, 138 female graduates from more than 20 Afghan provinces
graduated on April 13th (see "Afghanistan welcomes new midwifery graduates, looks forward to first
Congress.")
The graduation ceremony featured a number of guest speakers,
followed by students joining together to recite their midwifery pledge.
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Dr. Sayed Mohammed Amin Fatimi, Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health,
addresses students
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Group of students sing a song as part of the ceremony
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Students recite their midwifery pledge, signifying that they are now
midwives
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Minister greets class valedictorian Shakeela Abdal (the top eight students
received a special certificate and award)
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Graduates walked on stage one-by-one to receive their
certificates. Selected guests helped Minister of Public Health Fatimi greet
the graduates.
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Mr. Jim Griffin, Senior Health Advisor for USAID/Afghanistan, helps hand out
certificates
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Mr. Ali Mawji, Resident Representative for the Aga Khan Development Network, helps hand out
certificates
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Dr. Jeffrey M. Smith, Jhpiego Country Director for Afghanistan and part of
USAID/REACH's Safe Motherhood Unit, helps hand out certificates
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Ms. Guljan Jalal, Director of Student Affairs for the Institute of Health
Sciences,
helps hand out certificates
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Graduates and guests mingled after the ceremony, taking photos
as they celebrated the midwives' accomplishment and their upcoming role in
improving Afghanistan's health care system.
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Smith and Ms. Sheena Currie, Jhpiego Midwifery Advisor and part of USAID/REACH's
Safe Motherhood Unit, with new midwives
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Smith and Currie with faculty members from the Institute of Health
Sciences
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About REACH
The Rural Expansion of Afghanistan’s Community-based Health Care (REACH) Program supports
training centers for both the Midwifery Education Program and the Community Midwife Education
Program. REACH is implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), and the program’s Safe
Motherhood Unit is staffed by Jhpiego experts in maternal and newborn health. The program is
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
About Jhpiego
For 35 years, Jhpiego, (pronounced "ja-pie-go"), has empowered front-line health
workers by designing and implementing simple, low-cost, hands-on solutions that
strengthen the delivery of health care services, following the
household-to-hospital continuum of care. We partner with community- to
national-level organizations to build sustainable, local capacity through
advocacy, policy and guidelines development, and quality and performance
improvement approaches.
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