Provision of Life Saving Healthcare Services to IDPs, Returnees and Host Communities in Nangarhar and Balkh Provinces in Afghanistan The proposed project aims to contribute to lifesaving efforts through the provision of life saving healthcare including maternal, neonatal and child health services in targeted districts through Mobile Health Teams (MHTs) in Balkh and Nangarhar provinces in Afghanistan. MHTs will provide OPD services for the general community who require basic primary healthcare, midwives will provide ANC and PNC services to the pregnant women who visit the project health service and counsellors will provide psychosocial patients screening and counselling sessions to those in need. OPD will include the distribution of medicines for common ailments such as flu, sore throat, patient with intestinal, urinary and heart problems, diabetes, etc. And midwives will distribute supplements to pregnant women as well as the distribution of medicines, the MHTs will also provide immunization services of various vaccines such as measles, polio etc. to children maintaining cold chain standards during supplies and immunization process and register and report according to the National EPI and HMIS requirement. The MHTs will also distribute mosquito nets, newborn baby kits and covid-19 prevention kits to those that the team consider to be most in need. 

The MHTs will refer the critical patients to the BPHS or EPHS service points for better treatment and the PSS teams will also refer any severe illness of PSS cases to higher healthcare facilities when necessary. Support with the costs of transportation and medicine to a higher healthcare facility will be covered for those cases that are referred by the project.

The project will also increase the awareness of the general community about prevention of infectious diseases including the prevention of COVID-19 through different communication channels. As Afghanistan has a strong conservative and religious society, the project will use IRW’s Faith Driven Approach (FDA) to mobilize people and to make them aware of why and how to protect themselves from diseases. Women and men community leaders, religious leaders, and community health workers and members of Shuras will be actively engaged. FM radio and other communication tools will also be used in order to have a wider reach. Cluster approved messages on COVID-19 and prevention of various types of communicable diseases will be disseminated through safe and sustained communications channels. IRW will engage with RCCE WG on a regular basis for setting the communication methodologies and tools. IRW will ensure coordination with RCCE WG to ensure a harmonized approach and feed into rumor tracking. 

This six-month project is designed as per the needs and gaps identified by the health cluster for the AHF 3rd Reserved Allocation 2021. The project will reach upto 64,664 direct beneficiaries and 20,000 indirect beneficiaries in targeted districts in Nangarhar and Balkh provinces. 

IRW has field offices and strong presence in the proposed provinces including community acceptance and government trust. IRW is already implementing projects from donors like AHF/OCHA and our other partners in these areas. IRW has already completed COVID-19 Emergency Response in the targeted provinces in Afghanistan in 2020, funded by AHF/OCHA. The proposed project will be implemented in close coordination with the MoPH, AHF/OCHA, Health Cluster and other stakeholders.