Afghanistan

Snapshot*
Population – 32.7 million
Internally displaced persons – 161,000**
Life expectancy – 44 years old
Median age – 17.6 years old
Infant mortality rate – 1,600 deaths for every 100,000 live births
Fertility rate – 6.6 children per woman
HIV/AIDS rate – 0.1 percent
Infectious disease risk – High
Literacy rate – 28 percent

Life in Afghanistan
After the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan fell under the rule of the Taliban, which enforced strict controls on mobility, education, and employment. For five years, Afghans lived under the thumb of the Taliban, particularly women, who were forbidden even from a basic education. The Taliban’s fall marked the beginning of Afghanistan’s slow recovery. Both urban and even-more-vulnerable rural populations continue to struggle in poverty, while food security continues to decrease with rising food and fuel costs and after flooding and drought in early 2008. While girls’ schools have re-opened and health care has expanded, Afghanistan still has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world at just 44 years old. Its infant mortality rate is also staggeringly high at 1,600 deaths for every 100,000 births.

Helping Communities Help Themselves
Bringing Relief
International Medical Corps (IMC) delivers services that promote the health of approximately one million people in Afghanistan. These services include:

• Primary health care
• Secondary health care, including surgery
• Maternal and child care
• Expanded immunization
• Nutritional screening and therapeutic feeding
• Infrastructure rebuilding and development
• Livelihoods and community support
• Refugee return and IDP assistance
• Water and sanitation

Under the Taliban, women’s health care was greatly reduced and even non-existent to some. International Medical Corps is helping to strengthen and expand medical support for women and children throughout Afghanistan. Safe birth practices are central to this effort to reduce the risk of infant mortality. In addition to maternal and child care, International Medical Corps’ outreach penetrates some of Afghanistan’s most remote environments, including mountainous settlements, to make sure they have the support and supplies they need to survive freezing low and scorching high temperatures.

For returning refugees, International Medical Corps provides direct medical support through a network of medical clinics. With the support of ECHO, IMC also brings clean water and sanitation services to returnees by building wells and latrines and providing hygiene education. In addition to returnee support, IMC engages local communities to rehabilitate roads and other infrastructure elements. Mostly done through cash-for-work programs, IMC’s development initiatives have helped as many as 50,000 people with more than 300 infrastructure and 150 irrigation projects.

Enabling Self-Reliance
To make its relief efforts sustainable, International Medical Corps’ programs train Afghans to fulfill the following roles in their programs:

• Traditional birth attendants – Help ensure clean, safe deliveries for Afghan mothers and their babies
• Health care workers - Provide primary health care through IMC-supported health posts, mobile clinics, and health centers
• Community health workers – Educate peers in basic health, such as preventable diseases, including nutrition and safe motherhood

With the support of the U.S. Department of Health and human Services, International Medical Corps runs an in-service training program for health professionals at Rabia Balkhi Women’s Hospital in the capital, Kabul. The on-the-job training targets hospital residents and midwives, as well as other health professionals including radiologists, pharmacists, anesthetists, pediatricians, and nurses. IMC worked with the Ministry of Public Health to develop the first in-service residency program and the materials for the first national in-service nursing curricula in the country.

You Can Help Build Change That Lasts
Despite its progress, Afghans are still threatened by tenuous security and harsh environmental conditions. These risks, coupled with the rising cost of food and fuel, deepen the need for international support. With your generosity, more Afghans will be able have the medicines, health care facilities, and qualified medical personnel needed to protect their future. Click here to help Afghanistan and other IMC programs worldwide.

*Statistics from U.S. Government
**Statistic from UNHCR