Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) is helping bridge gaps in access to maternal care in Balochistan, a province in southwestern Pakistan that has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, with 298 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to the national average of 186.

Nestled in the rugged landscape of the Bolan Valley in Balochistan, famous for summer fruits such as apples and peaches, the MSF-run Kuchlak Medical Centre stands along the bustling Quetta-Chaman highway, a main artery connecting Pakistan with Afghanistan. The maternity unit is the heart of the facility. For the women and their babies in the area, access to medical services is not just critical—it is lifesaving.

“Eight of my nine children were born here, and my daughter-in-law delivered her five children in this very hospital," said Zarlast as she sat beside her daughter-in-law Zarnasha, amid the cries of newborns. "It’s part of who we are."