Icelandic midwives will teach Afghans how to deliver babies in courses organized by the Icelandic Peace Corps in Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Valgerdur Sverrisdóttir announced in parliament yesterday, that the Peace Corps will change the nature of its operations in Afghanistan, as reported in all the main media.
From now on, the Icelandic Peace Corps will concentrate on policing and law keeping, aviation and airport control, communication and information affairs, and health care, Sverrisdóttir said.
According to Sverrisdóttir, the purpose of these changes is to soften the image of the Peace Corps and to include more women in peacekeeping.
Sverrisdóttir says that in the future, more funding will be allocated towards peacekeeping in Afghanistan and that the goal is to employ a total of 50 peacekeepers.
Iceland’s contribution to peacekeeping is important, she adds, and hopes for more open discussion in the community about the Corps’ operations.
The Icelandic Peace Corps has been operating in Afghanistan since 2002. The Peace Corps will soon supervise the handover of the airport in Kabul to the Afghans.
