08 January 2002

U.S. Involved With Efforts to Improve Afghan Health Crisis

Washington -- In response to critical medical needs in Afghanistan, the U.S. government, its coalition allies, and international organizations have been providing substantial health care assistance to the Afghan people.

The international community, through governmental and non-governmental organizations, is working steadily to try to improve the situation as relief workers return to Afghanistan following the defeat of the Taliban. On December 18, the French medical aid group, Medecins Sans Frontieres, sent additional personnel and supplies, increasing to fifty its number of expatriate personnel in the country.

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the local Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) are operating 48 health clinics in different areas of the Afghanistan, each with the capacity to provide care to 50,000 patients a month.

The U.S. has contributed to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) program to vaccinate at least 9 million Afghan children against measles, a disease that kills an average of 35,000 Afghan children every year. Chulho Hyun, Spokesperson for UNICEF, reported January 8 that more than 257,000 children had been vaccinated so far.

Part of the $320 million U.S. assistance program to Afghanistan, announced in October 2001, supports the WHO and UNICEF program aimed at providing enough emergency health kits to enable health workers to treat 1.4 million people for three months.

The health kits contain standard manuals offering guidance in diagnosis and treatment, antibiotics to treat pneumonia and other conditions, anti-malarial drugs, pain medication and anesthetics. The kits also contain medical supplies such as syringes, sutures, bandages, soap, examination gloves and various medical instruments.

To reduce the maternal mortality rate, WHO and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are training traditional midwives, or birth attendants, to help expectant mothers who are reluctant to visit health clinics, or are unable to do so because they live in remote areas.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is participating in this program as part of its $4,235,000 funding of the International Medical Corps (IMC). The IMC established a traditional birth attendant training program in the Karukh district in December 2001. The program follows WHO/UNICEF standard curriculum to provide training for 22 traditional birth attendants over one-and-a-half months. With USAID funding, IMC is also in the process of rehabilitating a maternity home in Herat with local NGO partner Ibn Sina, and will provide essential medicines and equipment for it.

According to data from an October 2001 report by WHO, the medical situation is dire in Afghanistan. There is only one physician for every 50,000 people, and Afghanistan ranks second worldwide in maternal mortality, with 17 deaths per 1,000 women during the course of their pregnancy or childbirth. The problem is compounded by the fact that a large percentage of Afghans live in remote, mountainous areas and have no access to health care. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. chief envoy to Afghanistan, described the public health situation as being "in a desperate state," on January 3.

U.S. government officials recognize the need to do more to mitigate the public health crisis in Afghanistan. At a January 3 press briefing, Alan J. Kreczko, the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, said the U.S. would be looking to fund long-term programs for refugees, including those that provided, "basic health care including reproductive health care and maternal child health care."