One moment...

USAID | Afghanistan

From the American People

Home / Sectors / Health

Health

Increasing access of women and children to quality basic health services

Health

In order to create conditions for stability in Afghanistan, USAID health projects are designed to improve the health status of the general population. The projects aim to train essential health care professionals, educate Afghans about better health habits, enhance provider performance, and develop and implement quality assurance systems. Basic health care for rural communities is a priority for USAID/Afghanistan, with a primary focus on women and children’s health.

Learn more...

Success Stories

Announcements

In The News

BACKGROUND

Afghanistan has one of the highest mortality rates in the world: each year, about one in five children dies before the age of five, and one out of every eight Afghan women dies from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Average life expectancy is 42 years. While these statistics are tragic, we have seen progress. The 2006 Afghanistan Health Survey reported that nearly 60 percent of the population lives within two hours walking distance of the nearest health facility, up from nine percent in 2002. Infant mortality has decreased by 22 percent and child mortality has dropped by 26 percent since 2003.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

USAID has adopted a four-pronged approach to improving the health of the Afghan people, especially women and children:

  • Meet the immediate healthcare needs of the population by supporting the provision of primary healthcare services
  • Improve the health-related behaviors of individuals, families, and communities
  • Increase demand for and access to quality health products and services through the private sector
  • Address the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system by strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) at central and sub-national levels

MEETING IMMEDIATE HEALTHCARE NEEDS

Working through MoPH-contracted and managed non-government organizations, USAID supports the delivery of essential health services and pharmaceutical assistance approximately 10 million people in 13 of the country’s 34 provinces through the Basic Package of Health Services and the Essential Package of Hospital Services. On average, healthcare workers serve more than 870,000 clients per month at USAID-supported health facilities, and 76 percent of clients are women and children less than five years of age.

USAID supports regular in-service training programs for physicians, nurses, and midwives to ensure quality care at the facility level. To bring services to communities, USAID also trains community health workers. U.S. Government programs have trained nearly half of all volunteer community health workers practicing in Afghanistan.

Increasing access to skilled birth attendants is essential to improving maternal and child health. To date, 1,694 midwives have graduated from USAID-supported midwifery programs representing approximately 50 percent of all midwives in Afghanistan. This development has helped increase the number of trained midwives from 467 under the Taliban, to more than 3,250 today. As a result, use of antenatal care in rural Afghanistan has risen from an estimated eight percent in 2003, to 36 percent in 2008.

Afghanistan is one of four remaining countries in the world that has been unable to stop transmission of poliovirus. Insecurity along the border, especially in the south, has led to a shortage of health workers and an increase in polio cases from seven in 2004, to 38 in 2009. In 2010, 25 cases were reported and 10 confirmed cases have been reported in the first six months of 2011. To support national polio eradication efforts, USAID funds a nationwide polio surveillance system to detect, investigate, confirm, and respond to cases of acute flaccid paralysis, the signal condition for polio.

USAID also supports tuberculosis (TB) detection, treatment, and control efforts in both rural and urban settings in 13 target provinces using the Directly Observed Therapy, Short Course methodology, globally recognized as the best way to cure TB and control its spread.

BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM

USAID technical assistance to build MoPH financial, procurement and management systems enabled the Ministry to receive direct funding from the U.S. Government to support the delivery of health services in 13 provinces. USAID continues to provide technical support to the MoPH to improve its capacity to plan and manage activities, allocate resources, increase human capacity, strengthen health information systems, and monitor and evaluate the BPHS and EPHS programs.

INCREASING DEMAND FOR AND ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THROUGH THE PRIVATE SECTOR

By expanding private sector distribution of selected socially marketed high-quality contraceptives, oral rehydration salts, and safe water solutions, USAID has helped make affordable health products more widely available to rural, low-income people. To disseminate public health messages and educate communities on issues such as the importance of birth spacing and diarrhea prevention and treatment, USAID programs support radio and TV spots, billboards, community health shuras, and mobile cinema. USAID is also supporting the MoPH in developing effective partnerships with the private sector to support quality and financially sustainable health services delivery, particularly in the hospital sector.

Fact Sheet Health Sector December 2012

Project Implementing Partner(s)

Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival-III (BASICS-III)

Better Health for Afghan Mothers and Children Project

Central Contraceptive Procurement (CCP)

Child Protection and Psychological Support for Afghan Children and Youth Program/Assistance for Afghanistan’s Most Vulnerable Children

Child Survival Support Grant: Better Health for Afghan Mothers and Children Project

Communication for Behavior Change: Expanding Access to Private Sector Health Products and Services in Afghanistan (COMPRI-A)

Comprehensive Disabled Afghans Program/National Program of Action on Disability

Disease Early Warning System (DEWS)

Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP)

Health Care Improvement (HCI) Project

Health Policy Project (HPP)

Health Research Challenge for Impact: Reproductive Age Mortality Survey (RAMOS) II

Health Service Support Project (HSSP)

Health Services Delivery Grant - Partnership Contracts for Health (PCH)

Health Services Delivery Grant - Performance-based Partnership Grants (PPG)

Health Systems 20/20

Higher Education Project: Kabul Medical University

Leadership, Management, Governance (LMG)

Measure DHS: Afghanistan Mortality Study

Routine Immunization in Afghanistan

Rural Expansion of Afghanistan's Community-based Healthcare (REACH)

Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS)

TB CARE 1

Technical Support to the Central and Provincial Ministry of Public Health (Tech-Serve)

Tuberculosis Control Assistance Program (TB CAP)

UNICEF Health and Immunization Response Support

UNICEF Nutrition Program in Afghanistan

UNICEF Salt Iodization in Afghanistan

USAID|DELIVER Project

WHO Cross Border Malaria Program

WHO Health and Emergency Response Support Grant: Polio Eradication Activities

WHO TB

Health Snapshot

  • Life expectancy in Afghanistan increased by 20+ years since 2002
  • Since 2002, infant mortality declined by 57%, child mortality dropped by 62%, and maternal mortality fell to almost 22% of previous levels
  • More than 21,000 health care providers have been trained by USAID, including over 1,800 midwives – over half of all midwives trained in the past 10 years
  • 37% of Afghan women now use modern family planning methods in the 13 USAID-funded provinces – almost double the national average
  • Supported the creation of the Disease Early Warning System, a national system of infectious disease surveillance

(Data as of January 2013)

Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS-2010-Released on Nov 2011)

Afghanistan Mortality Survey Key Findings (AMS-2010-Released on Nov 2011)