Improving Maternal and Child Health in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is one of the deadliest places on earth for women and
children:
- Only 14 percent of Afghan women have access to skilled medical childbirth
care
- Second-highest maternal mortality ratio in the world: 1,900 deaths per
100,000 births
- 70 pregnant women die each day in Afghanistan, often during childbirth
- 1 in 4 Afghan children will not live to see their fifth birthday
To improve the lives of women and children in Afghanistan, Abbott is
partnering with Direct Relief and the Afghan Institute for Learning (AIL) to
help reverse the country's high maternal mortality rate and increase the
survival and overall health of infants and children. Abbott's support is part
of its efforts to invest in creative programs that advance access to health
care around the world, focused on finding sustainable solutions to make a
lasting impact on people’s lives.
AIL was founded by Nobel Prize nominee Sakena Yacoobi, a longtime advocate
for women’s rights in Afghanistan. With four clinics serving mostly rural areas
(three in Herat province, one in Kabul province), AIL is staffed and operated
by Afghan women.
In addition, The Abbott Fund is an active member of the US-Afghan Women’s
Council, whose mission is to empower Afghan women by mobilizing resources from
the public and the private sectors. The Council has been recognized as an
outstanding example of public-private partnerships that advance the status,
health and financial standing of women in Afghanistan.
The Abbott Fund support is focused on empowering Afghan women through the
training of female nurses and birth attendants (midwives) to provide skilled
assistance during labor and delivery, as well as care for infants and children.
To date, 46 nurses/midwives have completed their training, with most now
employed in clinics and hospitals. An additional 25 women are expected to
complete training by August 2009.
To help expand AIL's health education efforts beyond the clinics, The Abbott
Fund also is supporting five-day women's workshops that provide basic health
education to Afghan women in the community. Seven community workshops have
provided health education to more than 600 women.
To date, The Abbott Fund has provided more than $564,000 in grants and
Abbott has provided $4 million in product
donations to AIL, including rehydration solutions, antibiotics, multivitamins
and nutritional supplements. In 2008, additional support will help AIL expand
their patient base and ensure quality patient care and services across all
three of their clinics. Direct Relief, a global humanitarian assistance
organization, manages the distribution of Abbott's grants and product donations
to AIL.
Results to Date
Since the partnership began in November 2005, progress has been significant,
with more than 280,000 women and children receiving services from AIL:
- 64,000 women have received reproductive health services
- 152,000 patients have received vaccinations
- 84,000 children have received nutritional assessments
- 280,000 women have attended health education classes in clinics and in the
community