When the Taliban fell, Afghanistan had some of the worst health indicators in the world. It had an estimated under-five mortality rate of 256 per 1,000 births, compared to 92 for South Asia.
• The number of pregnant women receiving prenatal care per year has increased from 8,500 in 2003 to 123,000 in 2006
• More than 10,000 community health workers—half of whom are women—have been trained and deployed
• The number of facilities with trained female health workers has increased from 25% before the project to 85% today.
• Communities are performing a variety of tasks to increase their incomes and protect the environment
• IDA helped design the project and strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Public Health to tender and manage contracts
• By providing free health services, the project has helped increase access to preventive, promotive and curative care
• Discussions with community increased their satisfaction with the health services
• Physical access to services needs to be further improved
• Increasing the proportion of deliveries that are attended by skilled health workers will have to overcome serious social obstacles
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