Japan National Award 2025 Winner

With a small number of trained midwives, Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The country is facing a humanitarian crisis, with high poverty, food shortages and fluctuations in foreign aid. Further, in December 2024, the Taliban banned women from midwifery courses. The situation is especially dire in the Northeastern province of Badakhshan, a remote mountain region with poor roads and minimal medical infrastructure. This series tells the story of Afghan midwives who struggle to save the lives of mothers and newborn babies living with insufficient medical care. The photographer has previously documented the work of midwives in different parts of the world such as Bolivia and Japan, and feels a sense of urgency in bringing public awareness to the crucial role of midwives in Afghanistan’s complex environment.

Noriko Hayashi is a documentary photographer based in Tokyo. Noriko began taking pictures for a local newspaper "The Point" in Gambia, West Africa, when she was a university student in International Relations. Her work has been recognized with awards such as the Visa d’Or feature award at the Visa Pour l'image festival and 1st Prize of NPPA Best of Photojournalism. Her works have been published internationally such as GRANTA, The New York Times, National Geographic Magazine, Stern etc.