Mobile health teams bring critical services to women in remote Afghanistan

It has been a harrowing year for women and girls in Afghanistan. In the first quarter of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was just reaching Afghanistan, flash floods were causing mass displacements around the country, and armed conflict and economic turmoil continued to leave much of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.

For many women and girls, access to vital health services was already precarious before COVID-related movement restrictions were put into place.

To reach women, UNFPA is fully or partially funding the deployment of 14 mobile health teams in Afghanistan. These teams are groups of health professionals who travel to remote communities to provide essential health services, including antenatal care, post-natal care, family planning services, and vaccinations.

In the first half of 2020, mobile health teamы provided services to 23 villages, reaching 1,840 families.

Their work – already treacherous due to difficult terrain and insecurity – has become even more dangerous under the pandemic.

There have been more than 38,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Afghanistan, according to the World Health Organization. Nearly 10 percent of confirmed cases have been among health-care staff.

UNFPA is providing protective equipment to the mobile health teams, and supporting protective supplies and measures in larger hospitals as well.

Original source: UNFPA