20 September 2021, 10:41 pmAfghan mother and baby with doctor. Photo collage illustration from photographs courtesy Getty Images
The hospital sweltered in temperatures topping 43C - the power had been cut and there was no fuel to work the generators. "We were sweating like we were taking a shower," says Rabia's midwife Abida, who worked tirelessly in darkness to deliver the baby by mobile phone light. It used to be worse. Yet the progress made on maternal and neonatal care since the US-led invasion in 2001 is quickly unravelling.
Access to life-saving supplies and medicines for women's reproductive health is being significantly affected. The timing is doubly unfortunate given the spread of coronavirus. "There is no preparation for the possibility of a fourth wave of Covid," says Dr Majrooh. "When she finally managed to find a car, it was too late - she gave birth in the car and became unconscious for several hours because of the severe pain she was in and the extreme heat. We didn't think she'd survive. The baby was also in a very dangerous condition, and we had nothing to provide for either of them," Abida says.
The UNFPA is concerned that the increasing risk of child marriage will further drive up the mortality rate. Spiralling poverty, anxiety over girls being unable to attend school, and fears over forced marriages between militants and girls or young adolescent women, is compounding the issue. "If you're a young mother, your chances of survival shrink immediately," Dr Kanem says.
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