Kalayu weldegebriel, a male midwife, stands by the MSF maternity area. “I first started with the outreach team and have been working as a midwife for the past six weeks. I graduated as a midwife from the University of Tigray. It’s common for men to do this job at home, but Sudanese women have been surprised to see a man in this role. I originally wanted to be a doctor, but then I became interested in maternal health. We are four Sudanese and three Tigrayan midwives here. We stay busy: last night we had three deliveries and sometimes we have 40 deliveries a week. My favourite thing is to see a mother and the baby doing well after delivery. I like babies and I hope to have four children of my own one day.”