Training the Next Generation: How Rhoda Amafumba Is Shaping Midwifery in Zambia
When Rhoda Amafumba first stepped into a maternity ward in Lusaka more than 40 years ago, she could not have imagined how many lives her career would touch. Today, as a midwifery clinical instructor guiding students at Matero and Chipata Level One hospitals, she is helping train the next generation of midwives to provide safe, skilled care for mothers and newborns across Zambia.
Although Rhoda once imagined herself pursuing careers such as secretarial work or becoming a flight attendant, stories from the maternity ward eventually drew her to midwifery. Since then, she has never looked back.
Her professional journey began as a registered nurse over 40 years ago. While working as a supervisor at University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Rhoda realized that to effectively guide and supervise midwives, she needed to further her own training. She returned to school to study midwifery — a decision that would shape the rest of her career.
“As a teacher, my role is to help students translate what they learn in the classroom into hands-on clinical skills,” she explains. “They must be able to apply theory at the bedside, with real patients, and that takes close guidance.”
“Midwifery brings both joy and sadness,” Rhoda says. “But being able to celebrate with families when a baby is born safely outweighs all the challenges.”
Over the decades, she has witnessed remarkable changes in Zambia’s health system.
“I have seen us move from delivering eight women at once with very limited infrastructure, beds, and equipment, to providing more holistic care before, during, and after birth,” she shares. “As the health system has evolved and strengthened, maternal mortality has gone down, and quality of care has improved.”
Rhoda also reflects on how training has evolved. While she trained in a class of just 50 students, enrollment later grew rapidly, making it difficult to provide adequate bedside instruction. The rise of private training institutions without strong clinical components further widened skills gaps among graduating students.
“These challenges are why dedicated clinical instruction is so important,” she explains.
Through Seed Global Health’s support, Rhoda has witnessed significant improvements in midwifery training and professional practice. Enhanced clinical mentorship, expanded bedside teaching and skills and simulation training, and evolving standards of care create a more supportive environment for both students and experienced midwives.
“I remember teaching a newly posted medical doctor how to use a Kocher clamp, a small surgical instrument that can safely rupture membranes, instead of a needle,” she recalls. “Simple tools, when used correctly, can make care safer and more respectful.”
Rhoda finds particular fulfillment in working with young midwives.
“I was mentored when I started, and I want to pay it forward,” she says. “Young midwives are the future of our profession.”
Her influence extends beyond hospital walls. In her community and church, she encourages women to seek antenatal care and deliver in health facilities to reduce risks associated with home births. Some of the very women she now advises, she delivered decades ago when she was a young midwife herself.
Seed Global Health’s approach to health systems strengthening resonates deeply with her.
“Instead of relying only on Ministry of Health staff, Seed hires qualified health workers whose sole focus is training students, especially at the bedside,” Rhoda explains. “That dedication makes a real difference in students’ confidence and competence.”
Her impact is also personal: two of her nieces have chosen to pursue midwifery after watching her career.
“I have been a midwife since 1983,” Rhoda says with pride. “Teaching others and shaping the next generation is how I continue to serve my country.”
Rhoda’s work shows that investing in skilled health workers improves care and builds stronger health systems. When midwives are well trained and supported, women experience safer pregnancies and births, children begin life healthier, and families and communities are better able to thrive. Over time, this steady investment in skills, mentorship, and local leadership creates lasting improvements that reach far beyond the delivery room.
The world needs more midwives like Rhoda.
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) has launched a global petition for one million more midwives. It calls on governments and global health leaders to grow, support, and sustain the global midwifery workforce, so mothers can access safe, respectful, high-quality care.
Because investing in midwives is investing in women’s health.
