Medical workers examine a patient at a health center being operated by the Qatar Red Crescent Society in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The representative mission of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Afghanistan is working on a project to establish and operate a primary healthcare centre in District 3 of Kandahar Province.
At a total cost of $582,000 (approximately QR2.1m), the project is aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality rates among the local population, particularly women and children, by allowing them more access to high-quality health services.
Other goals of the project are to improve the skills of medical and technical personnel, as well as creating obstetric emergency night shifts and referral system.
To that end, QRCS and its Afghan counterpart worked together on the project, which was initiated in 2018 and will last until July 2021.
Since the opening of the health centre, it has served 45,182 patients, including mainly under-5 children, mothers, pregnant women, and women in the childbearing age. Also, there are 620 indirect beneficiaries, including the medical and nonmedical staff, suppliers, drivers, and other professionals engaged in the execution of the project.
First, the building was leased and renovated, and a workforce of 17 persons were hired (physicians, nurses, midwives, vaccinators, lab technician, pharmacist, sociopsychological advisor, administrative officer, supervisor, janitors, and security).
Then, QRCS secured all the furnishing and equipment required for the centre. In relation to capacity-building, training courses were held on reporting, health management information systems (HMIS), Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), infection prevention and control, nutrition, and other health and technical topics.
Throughout the operation period, all the required medications and medical consumables are given to the patients free of charge, based on the lists of needs and the Afghan Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS).
A wide range of health services are available at the health centre, such as maternal and child care including prenatal and postnatal services and vaccination for women and children; outpatient clinics; examinations; treatment for common diseases, malnutrition and psychological issues; basic lab diagnostic services; medications and consumables; emergency night shifts (especially maternity); and referrals to hospitals for advanced healthcare.
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, training and awareness sessions were held for all the staff on the risks of the virus, how it spreads, and how to prevent it. The necessary protective supplies were secured, such as masks, hand sanitizers and soap.
This is a major humanitarian project, as it is the only healthcare centre in the overpopulated area, mostly inhabited by the poor. Due to diverse services it offers, the centre is receiving more and more visitors, with a current average of 140 cases per day.
