St Elizabeth Midwifery Training School [SEMTS] and health care training
St. Elizabeth Midwifery Training School is attached to St Elizabeth Hospital in Hyderabad. It is overseen by the SEMTS Management Council and is professionally accredited to and accountable to the Pakistan Nursing Council. Mrs. Zarish Momal, M.Sc.Nursing, is principal and the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary see to the residential accommodation for the student midwives.
According to the official Pakistan Economic Survey 2024, p.214, Pakistan has the highest infant mortality rate (52.8 deaths per 1000 live births) and the highest maternal mortality rate (186 deaths per 100,000 births) in South Asia. There has been a decrease in midwives and lady health workers since 2021. This limits access of poor women in rural areas in Pakistan to reliable healthcare
By training midwives and community health workers, St. Elizabeth Midwifery Training School is helping Pakistan to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goal no.3 relating to health.
The course at SEMTS is two years. It follows the programme of studies laid down by the Pakistan Nursing Council supplemented by further subjects including Catholic Social Teaching and Healthcare. The academic year 2023 concluded in August 2023. 53 students were in training including those who sat for the Pakistan Nursing Council final examinations. 20 new students were admitted for the new academic year 2023-2024 which began in September 2024. In addition to the principal, there were 6 lecturers [3 full-time and 3 part-time] and 2 auxiliary workers.
Young women from marginalized communities come to Hyderabad to train at SEMTS and to advance their socio-economic position by enabling them to become skilled professional and qualified midwives for maternal, neonatal and infant care. We are delighted in the significant development that an increasing number of young women from the disadvantaged tribal communities in the province of Sindh are undertaking midwifery studies at SEMTS.
St Elizabeth Hospital Society has undertaken two major building and construction projects with the assistance of donors to expand the scope of SEMTS which will be included in the new St Elizabeth College of Nursing and Health Sciences. One is for the new Institute of Allied Healthcare Sciences (commencing 2024) and the other is for the B.Sc. Nursing (commencing 2025). These will greatly expand the health care education offered at St Elizabeth and will offer new horizons for women in healthcare careers.
SEMTS is unable to be self-supporting. It receives no assistance from the Pakistan government. The total expenses for each midwifery student is Rs.1,299,400 (Au$ 7,024=Euro 4,317). Each student pays only Rs.184,000 (AU$ 995=Euro 611) due to their socio-economic background. St. Elizabeth sees this as an important investment in women and in responding to the ongoing maternal and infant health care national crisis but urgently needs the financial assistance of donors to continue the work of SEMTS.
All donations are fully tax deductible.
The SEMTS external audit report, annual financial statements, annual budget, asset lists, and details of all employees provide the information needed for financial accountability.