Improving Primary Health Care in Afghanistan Through NGOs

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (23 December 2002) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$3 million grant assistance to improve health, nutrition, and reproductive health of the rural poor in Afghanistan. The grant will come from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan.
The project will explore how the Ministry of Health (MOH) can effectively contract nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to develop community-based primary health care and thereby reduce rural poverty.
"We aim to cut child mortality rates by 30% over three years as well as reduce common infectious diseases, child malnutrition and maternal mortality rates," says ADB Senior Health Specialist Vincent de Wit. "In addition, the project will generate jobs for construction as well as work in community health."
Beneficiaries of the project will number 500,000 people, of whom 80% are poor.
During the war, many hospitals and health centers were destroyed, damaged, or abandoned. Only one third of the population has access to primary health care.
About 80 NGOs, both international and local, are working in the health sector, most of them operating a few clinics or providing specialized support.
The project, among other things, will:
· Test a comprehensive approach to develop community-based primary health care that most benefits the poor and vulnerable;
· Contract NGOs to support communities in improving health services, provide training and support for health workers, conduct an education program for women, set up a drug supply and revolving drug fund system, and provide technical inputs and training for infrastructure development and health services;
· Support the development of community organizations to construct, upgrade, and maintain small health centers, water supply facilities and toilets; and
· Set up community-managed health centers for clusters of villages in 10 districts that lack such facilities.
The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of 10 billion yen (about US$90 million), followed by additional contributions of US$155 million and a commitment of US$50 million.