Five women in labour, but just one midwife? It sounds unbelievable, but this was recently the reality for Hellen, a midwife in training at an Amref-funded health centre in Maridi, South Sudan (pictured above).

By walking 10,000 steps daily from 10-16 October, you can help Amref provide more support to Midwives like Hellen.

£150 could train midwives like Hellen to safely deliver babies in complicated cases of childbirth.

The life of a midwife in Sub-Saharan Africa is rewarding but tough. They do the same work that UK midwives do without many of the resources that midwives have in the UK. Midwives in sub-Saharan Africa often work alone, in remote and rural health centres. It can be hot, and dirty. Wages are low, and hours are long. Often, one midwife will be responsible for looking after several labouring women at once. After their initial training, many midwives aren't able to keep learning, and they frequently face preventable deaths of mothers and children because they lack up to date equipment, drugs, and training.

Amref Health Africa supports midwives across Africa to access the training and they support they need to deliver the best care to their patients. We deliver accessible, affordable training, using eLearning and mobile phones as well as face-to-face, meaning midwives can continue learning through their whole career, helping them to save more mothers and children.