Improving access of the vulnerable people to primary and essential healthcare, emergency nutrition, and outbreak response services The ongoing escalation of humanitarian need in Afghanistan has largely been fueled by the political events of August 2021 and the resulting pause of long-term development funding by international donors to the “Sehatmandi” project, the backbone of the Afghan health system, delivering basic and essential packages of health services (BPHS and EPHS) in over 2.300 health facilities all over the country and other health facilities which were funded by external resources. Even with short term solutions now in place to bridge this funding gap and Sehatmandi NGOS operational, there are significant gaps in the delivery of essential and primary healthcare. 

WHO is presenting a comprehensive response package to provide urgently needed and lifesaving health assistance focusing on four priority areas aiming to preserve the essential health service delivery in accordance with the allocation strategy: provision of emergency primary health care (PHC) in underserved areas case management of COVID-19 critical cases response to communicable disease outbreaks and the delivery of quality nutrition services to In-patient care for severely malnourished children with complications. 

For the provision of PHC we will establish 7 Basic Health Centers (BHCs), 8 Mobile Health Teams (MHTs) and 16 Sub-Health Centers (SHCs) in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Wardak, Logar, Daikundi, Parwan, Badakhshan, and Baghlan provinces for 6 months through contracting out modality. WHO will also be supporting the national mental health hospital in Kabul for 5 months.

Support to the case management of sever cases of COVID-19 will be given to COVID-19 hospitals in Farah, Sar-e-Pul and Daikundi provinces for a period of 6 months using implementing partners. Should  COVID-19 hospitals be covered by the HER project after June 2022, in consultation with AHF, WHO is committed to reprogram the funding for support of the secondary and tertiary healthcare provision in the country by supporting main referral hospitals.
 
In response to communicable disease outbreaks including measles and Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) WHO will conduct trainings and will provide medical supplies and kits to the surveillance officers and Rapid Response Team (RRT) members. WHO will also be supporting the national Infectious Disease hospital for 7 months, by contracting out activities to Sub-IP while giving technical support. The above-mentioned activities will focus on the outbreak affected provinces including Helmand Kunduz, Jawzjan, Kabul, Nangarhar, Kapisa, Laghman, Zabul, and Kandahar.

This project will support the provision of inpatient therapeutic care for 5,612 severe acute malnourished children with medical complications (2,862 boys, 2,750 Girls) through the establishment of 12 new IPD SAM centers. This includes capacity building of staff and the provision of medical and non-medical supplies and equipment to all 50 IPD SAM centers, newly established and existing.  The IPD-SAM centers are located in 16 high-priority provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Helmand, Herat, Jawzjan, Kandahar, Kapisa, Nangarhar, Samangan, Takhar, Nooristan, Kabul, and Badghis.