WHO receives $6.3m to boost health services in Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan has received over $6.3 million in humanitarian funding for Afghanistan.

The funding received from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) is aimed to expand health services for the country’s most vulnerable communities, the WHO said in a statement.

Of this support, the CERF allocation of US$ 4.98 million as part of its underfunded emergencies window will allow WHO to operate 42 primary health care centres (PHCs), deploy 15 surveillance support teams (SSTs) and procure and deliver 249 primary health care kits to 13 provinces.

The AHF grant of $1.39 million will support six sub-health centres, 10 SSTs and 13 inpatient therapeutic feeding centres, providing lifesaving care for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in four provinces with the greatest needs.

The CERF and AHF contributions arrive at a time when Afghanistan’s health system faces severe pressure, with almost 1 in 3 people unable to access even the most basic care.

“WHO welcomes the CERF and AHF allocations which will help prevent avoidable deaths, strengthen our ability to respond to disease outbreaks and reach vulnerabile communities at high risk, especially women and children affected by economic and environmental crises, forced returns and displacement. Together, these funds make it possible for WHO to expand its reach and serve more people in more places,” said WHO Representative in Afghanistan Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador.

The combined projects will directly benefit more than 747 000 people, while improving outbreak control measures will indirectly benefit an additional 2.4 million through enhanced health infrastructure.

“WHO’s work is extremely important in Afghanistan where both CERF and AHF have facilitated the scaling up of its lifesaving interventions,” said Deputy Head of OCHA Afghanistan Kate Carey.

“These vital allocations come at a time when an unprecedented number of Afghans are returning from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, and large parts of country face the prospect of severe drought.”

sa/ma