Feature: Mobile health teams save lives in Afghanistan’s most remote areas

Shahpirai, 30, is the sole supplier for her hubby and 3 children.

“With my wage arsenic a teacher, I could conscionable spend to wage rent and bargain nutrient for my family, but not to question attraction for my child”, she said.

An upturn

Her concern took a crook for the amended past July, erstwhile portion walking done her colony she noticed radical gathered successful beforehand of an elder’s house.

“I asked what was going connected and learned that immoderate doctors were treating sick women and children”.

The doctors were portion of a mobile wellness squad supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) that provides aesculapian services to those who would different person nary oregon constricted access. In the astir distant parts of Afghanistan, the nearest wellness installation tin beryllium implicit 2 hours’ locomotion away, with communities successful these areas accounting for astir of the country's maternal and puerility illnesses and deaths.

Even earlier the existent crisis, malnutrition was a captious interest successful Afghanistan: according to the latest information from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 3.2 cardinal children nether the property of 5 are expected to beryllium acutely malnourished by the extremity of the year.

© UNICEF

Parwana suffers from Sever Acute Malnutrition wherever children’s nutrition needs person besides escalated pursuing caller events, arsenic economical shocks extremity much radical successful Afghanistan into crisis.

From exigency to betterment

Shahpirai rapidly brought her past 15-month-old lad to the mobile squad wherever she learned that helium was acutely malnourished and needed urgent care.

“The doc prescribed immoderate medicine and referred my lad to the Najmul Jihad Health Centre, with a enactment requesting contiguous treatment”, recalled the young woman.

At the wellness centre the toddler was thoroughly examined, fixed aesculapian and nutritional supplies, and registered successful a programme for children with acute malnutrition truthful helium could person continuous attraction and beryllium monitored closely.

“I returned to the centre regularly, and aft 3 months the doc said my lad was doing amended and nary longer needed therapeutic feeding. I was besides instructed connected however to supply him with due nutrition astatine home”.

An unfolding crisis

While the afloat ramifications of caller events successful Afghanistan volition lone go wide implicit time, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that humanitarian needs successful the state person already risen sharply and that the wellness attraction strategy has been brought to its knees.

Since past August, UNFPA has accrued the fig of mobile wellness teams it supports crossed Afghanistan to respond to the humanitarian wellness emergency.

The teams person defied formidable likelihood to present indispensable reproductive, maternal, newborn and kid wellness and psychosocial enactment services to mothers and children successful hard-to-reach areas that are different precariously underserved.

Amid a deteriorating information situation, the teams and UNFPA-supported static exigency clinics reached astir 50,000 radical with urgent aesculapian services conscionable past period alone.

Shahpirai says she is grateful for this life-saving support.

“It had been intolerable for maine to find nonrecreational attraction for my son, truthful I’m thankful that the mobile wellness squad regularly comes to our colony to supply aesculapian services, particularly for women and children”.