[X] CLOSEMENU

Header Photo

Razia Jan Institute

Post-Secondary Health Care Training

Current Status: The Razia Jan Institute is currently closed due to the ban on secondary education for female students. 

The Razia Jan Institute (RJI) is the first women's post-secondary vocational school for women in rural Afghanistan. Our tuition-free program provides midwifery certification training in conjunction with the Afghan Ministry of Public Health including classes in English, personal finance, and computer literacy. RJI graduates are trained community health care workers who provide lifesaving services to a severely medically-underserved area while improving social, health, and economic outcomes for themselves and their villages.

Admission

Admission is based on national admission policy and criteria: all candidates must have a minimum of 10 years of schooling and pass the national entrance exam.

In a significant indication of progressive change, students from the Zabuli Education Center’s first two classes of high-school graduates were among the students that comprised RJI’s inaugural class.

Training

Each cohort must undergo Ministry-certified classroom curriculum, as well as designated weekly medical practicums in area clinics and hospitals. In order to graduate and receive midwifery certification, each student must successfully support the delivery of 60 babies.

Two-Year Curriculum

Phase 1: Pregnancy, labor, postnatal, and neonatal care;

Phase 2: Management of complications of pregnancy and childbirth;

Phase 3: Other reproductive health topics, management of service provision, and professional guidance.

Accreditation

RJI is a member of the Afghan Midwives Association, the technical body for midwifery education, professional development, and policies, and is a member of key national and international forums, including:

  • Afghan National Reproductive Health and Human Resource Development Task Forces
  • Maternal Newborn Health Committee
  • Afghan Midwifery and Nursing Education Accreditation Board
  • International Confederation of Midwives

Facility

The RJI facility includes a clinic where midwifery students train alongside doctors and midwives. Solar panels are installed on the institute’s roof, lapping up the rays, and white curtains embroidered with small blue butterflies festoon every window. As required by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, the facility is carpeted in order to minimize airborne dust (an essential strategy to safeguard hygiene in Afghanistan).

“A few months ago, I delivered my sister-in law’s baby in a house with minimal equipment. Fortunately, the delivery was successful, and that would not have been possible were I not student at the Razia Jan Institute. I am very happy that I can deliver a baby at home or in the clinic.”
—Alia, Razia Jan Institute Student