Although women have the right to receive medical treatment and are allowed to work now, there are still many social and cultural barriers that prevent women from gaining access to health care. NAC supports and runs a Mother and Child Health Clinic in Jalalabad since 1997. The majority of the employees in the clinic are women and we have tried to develop an environment which is best suited to help women and their children.

This serious health situation is due to the reason that very few have had access to qualified medical assistance for nearly 30 years the country has been ravaged by war and conflict. Now the goal is to develop a nationwide health system with trained doctors, nurses and midwives. NAC knows that it will bear good results. (Hyperlink to Study by John Hopkins / MoPh). 

Source:The Sveedish Afghanistan Committee

Health care services for all:

 
After the fall of the Taliban regime in November 2001 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, only 8 % of the Afghan population had access to health care.

Usefulness:

Study by John Hopkins / MoPh

Average life expectancy:

•  Death due to childbirth-related problems constitutes 13% of all deaths in Afghanistan. 
•  It is especially the period between 4 months into the pregnancy to one month after the birth which is critical. 
•  This problem also explains Women's Low Life Expectancy in Afghanistan. In 2006, the life expectancy for Afghan men was 43.4 years and for women 43.3 years.
• The women's low life expectancy compared to men is in contrast to the general trend worldwide, where women live longer than men by an average of three to six years.
•  Main reason of women's low life expectancy in Afghanistan is the high number of women who die in connection with pregnancy and childbirth.

Maternal Mortality Rate:

• The Maternal Mortality Rate in connection with childbirth in Afghanistan is the second highest in the world.
• In 2002, Maternal Mortality Rate was estimated at 1,600 per 100,000 childbirths (this is 2000 times higher than in Norway).
• Health authorities in Afghanistan have targeted to reduce childbirth mortality by 50% until 2015. However, Reducing MMR in Afghanistan is a challenge of mammoth proportions as most births happen at home without qualified medical assistance.
• In 2003, only 14% of births were attended by skilled birth attendants.
• The situation is worse in rural areas where only 9% of mothers had access to skilled birth attendants unlike in cities where 52% of mothers had access to assistance from qualified health professionals.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Under-5 Years Mortality Rate (U5MR):

• Infant mortality rate in Afghanistan is one of the highest in the world.
• In 2003 it was estimated to 140 per 1000 live births. 
•  Infant mortality has since declined and was estimated to 135 out of 1000 during 2007. 
•  Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) is also extremely high, at 230 per 1000 live births.
• The government target is to reduce the IMR to 70 by 2015 and further down to 46 by 2020.
• The Afghan government wants to reduce U5MR by 50 % by 2015.
• Millennium Development Goal 4 aims to reduce under-5 and infant mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015.