Dr. SMA Fatimie, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan and Ms. Samira, health Coordinator of Agha Khan Foundation (AKF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in Bamyan and Baghlan provinces in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Ali Mawji, Ambassador of His Higness Prince Karim Agh Khan. The project targets district of Shibar in Bamyan and districts of Doshi and Dahana-i-Ghori in Baghlan province. The total value for this project is $12.1 million for 12 years from 2009 to 2020. For Shibar district the budget is $4.9 million and for Doshi and Dahana-I-Ghori districts the budget is $7.9 million.
The structure of the Health System in Afghanistan is traditional. At the district level, community health workers are providing health care and consultation to the people. The Basic Health Center is staffed by health professionals and provides all of the services that comprise the BPHS. Comprehensive Health Centres and District Hospitals offer a broader array of more sophisticated medical care.
The delivery of BPHS in Afghanistan has improved remarkably over the last four years. In order to reach Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, coverage and quality of care in the area of MCH services must be further improved. To this end MoPH with the support of its partners and donors tries to increase access to and utilization of BPH. With the support of donors and health stakeholders MoPH can increase access of poor people to the primary health care. AKF support in these 3 districts for 12 years will guarantee promotion of health for long term to the people. MoPH very much appreciates this generous support from the OIC said Dr. SMA Fatimie, Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Under 5 child mortality in Afghanistan has declined 26%, according to a Johns Hopkins University (JHU) household survey. We believe that this trend will continue because many clinics are newly built and quality of care improves day by day. We request also our friends in the OIC to support MoPH National Health Facility Development Plan to further realize equity in the provision of health care services to the needy people of Afghanistan he also added.