There is an increase in the quality of outcomes based on reportage about Afghanistan. For the last 15 years, Afghanistan has made progress in the health outcomes for its citizenry.
This is “especially for women and children,” even in spite of the insecurity well-known in the country. The basis for the improvements are from large-scale partnership models with non-governmental organizations as the deliverers of service.
One report, “Progress in the Face of Insecurity: Improving Health Outcomes in Afghanistan,” (2018) talked about the health gains undergirded through the expansion of the healthcare system and health services for the population.
ReliefWeb reported that the growth has been strong and sustained since 2003. As the World Bank described, “These improvements were in fact larger than in more secure provinces in the country. However, rising insecurity since 2010 has slowed some of these gains.”
Public Finance International reports that there is a long path ahead for the parity of Afghani health outcomes with the world in general.
The World Bank County Director of Afghanistan explained, “Long-term focus and investment by the government of Afghanistan and many partners has moved the country forward on health, despite many challenges… Afghanistan still has a long way to go to ensure quality health services for all, and we look forward to be a being a partner in that effort.”
The more insecure the areas in Afghanistan then the more the maternal health rate of improvement has slowed. The World Bank made a recommendation for the local health service delivery methods to become autonomous in order to improve outcomes.
More investment in monitoring and information is said to help improve the outcomes too. Fewer children are dying before the age of 5. It dropped 34% from 2003 to 2015. Women seeing a qualified health professional increase at a rate of 3.5% per year in addition to the use and contraceptives and births assisted by those skilled professionals.
“Afghanistan’s health gains despite continuing insecurity is a story from which the world has much to learn,” the World Bank Group Senior Director of Health, Nutrition and Population, Tim Evans, explained, “Rather than retreating and unravelling in adverse conditions, the health system is driving forward to secure the health of all citizens – especially mothers and children – drawing on deep reservoirs of local ingenuity.”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.