Tag Archives: MoPH

MULTI-SECTORIAL RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS IN AFGHANISTAN

In Afghanistan where HIV/AIDs is not a major health problem and the number of infected people is one of the lowest in the world, there is a multi-sectorial approach towards stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. Under the leadership and coordination of National AIDS Control Program which was established by the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan many local and international organisations work together to tackle this issue. In addition, there is a huge amount of financial and technical support from International Organisations such as the World Health Organisation, World Bank, Global Fund and John Hopkins University.

Afghanistan is a low level HIV prevalence country and according to World Bank only 478 cases have been reported. However, UNAIDS and WHO estimates show that the number of people living with HIV could be around 2000. As of 2008 prevalence in the general population is below 0.05%.

To understand the nature of its spread we must first understand the risk factors associated with the spread of HIV and we must know the most-at-risk people in the country. Continue reading →

The Afghan Health System

“The Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan presented its newly revised Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in 2005. Since the creation of BPHS in 2003, the MoPH has seen many positives changes in the health system. Most notable has been the expansion of access to BPHS service to 77% of the population.”  This is what the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan claims.

It is true that there has been positive changes in the health system, which MoPH defines as “many” however, I am not sure if “only one female doctor in a whole province” is many or nothing at all. It has been more than five years since the BPHS is revised and still the most simple medical cases are referred to neighbor countries.

The Afghan Health System sucks be it the public or private sector, and in comparison the private sector sucks the most. Millions of dollars are spent yearly on health tourism to India, Pakistan and Tajikistan and even Iran. And this costs our economy a huge amount. This is a big deal for a country which relies on foreign aid and has no economy of its own (as of now).

This is a very brief introduction to the Afghan health system, I will write about different issues in the mentioned system in the coming future..