Afghanistan
Situation Report
Afghanistan is an ancient country with a turbulent history. Since 1979, Afghanistan has experienced a Soviet takeover, a civil war, the oppressive Taliban government and years of significant drought.
All of these conflicts have hindered Afghanistan’s ability to develop, especially in terms of health care education. During the Taliban regime, male physicians were not allowed to learn about or treat female patients. As a result, Afghanistan has one the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
Afghans face several other health challenges as well, including lack of clean water and sanitation services, an inconsistent health education system, rundown transportation services and mountainous terrain.
The people that do seek care often wait in overcrowded, understocked and understaffed facilities that prevent them from getting the care they need. There are just 19 physicians for every 100,000 people in Afghanistan and the life expectancy is 46 years.
Our Work
We launched an emergency medical program during the 2001 war in Afghanistan. More than 20 volunteer teams provided direct medical services, food aid and immunizations that year. During 2006, we sent another 7 medical teams to provide direct care and training. Most recently, our volunteer teams have provided training and treatment for patients at the International hospital in Kabul and Tanghi Saidan Health Center.
Future Plans
Medical Teams International will:
- Provide the funding needed to upgrade a medical clinic run by our partners in the field. This local medical clinic will provide medical care and will increase services to approximately 1,300 patients per month.
- Send medical teams to the Tanghi Saidan Community Center.
- Deploy medical teams to Afghanistan in cooperation with CURE International. Teams will provide
OB/GYN care, surgeries and family medicine training to local Afghan doctors.
Our Partners
- CURE International establishes
and operates teaching hospitals in order to provide physical and
spiritual healing for disabled children in the developing world. CURE
has operated an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan since 2005.
- Morning Star Development is a nonprofit community and economic development organization committed to helping the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country and their lives. The organization focuses on bringing transformational change to the people of Afghanistan through sustainable economic and community development initiatives in the areas of health care, education, agriculture and small business development.
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