Meet Eva
The nurse who built a solution to save mothers and babies
Eva Said
is a UK-educated nurse who lives with her husband and children in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
What she has experienced there motivated her to establish the Nursing and Midwifery Development Centre (NMDC).
She sees nurses and midwives on the front lines, who, in many cases, provide care that is constrained, both by limited access to training and by a system that does not fully utilize their role.
Even highly motivated providers are sometimes unable to act independently in critical moments.
Recognizing this disconnect, Eva founded the NMDC to provide continuing education opportunities for nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals.
Starting Small
She began in a small classroom.
In 2016, Eva started training nurses herself, sharing what she knew, one group at a time, in borrowed spaces with limited resources.
She taught a few nurses at first.
More nurses came.
Then more.
And more.
It became clear that the need was far greater than what one person, or one room, could meet.
A Bigger Vision
Space was only one limitation. The need for modern training equipment was evident as well.
Eva began to imagine something different.
A purpose-built facility where nurses and midwives could practice before treating real patients.
A place with modern equipment.
A place that could raise the standard of care across an entire region.
Turning Vision into Reality
That vision became possible through a pivotal partnership.
In 2022, with support from humanitarian representatives of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
and through the leadership and advocacy of former Relief Society General President,
Jean B. Bingham, funding was secured to build the Nursing and Midwifery Development Centre.
In 2024, The Nursing and Midwifery Development Centre was born!
Pictured from left to right: Eva Said, Barbara Blackford, Abby Melby, Jean Bingham, and Carolyn Melby in Erbil
Latter-day Saint Charities invested $1.9 million to make the vision real.
What started as a small classroom became a 36,000 square-foot training facility with:
11 high-fidelity simulation labs
Capacity to train up to 7,000 healthcare providers each year
A model designed to strengthen the entire healthcare system
The NMDC is More than a Building.
It’s a place where:
Nurses gain life-saving clinical skills
Midwives learn to manage complications safely
Healthcare providers train in realistic, simulated environments before treating patients
And every training has a multiplier effect, as one provider can reach thousands of patients over the course of a career.
The Centre is built.
Now the work must be sustained.
Your Role in the Story
The Nursing and Midwifery Development Foundation exists to carry this work forward.
To ensure that the NMDC endures.
$29 trains one nurse or midwife.
Your support helps sustain this life-saving training for generations.
