IMC Returns to Afghanistan

IMC will work in collaboration with its local partner, Afghan NGO IbnSina public health program for Afghanistan, as it opens new clinics in Maslakh and Shaidaie camps, located in Herat province.

"Our local partners in Herat are trained to deal with every kind of emergency. Given the scale of this humanitarian crisis, we are ready to go back and assist them in meeting the needs of their communities," said IMC President and CEO Nancy Aossey.

Along with squalid living conditions and ongoing medical needs, the 200,000 people living in Maslakh must also endure a long-standing drought. The health care workers who are part of the already overburdened relief efforts are doing all they can.

"The presence of the new IMC clinics and its community-based health care program will save many lives in addition to building local capacity to play an active role in improving their health status," said Dr. Anwaral Haq, an Afghan physician who began his career with IMC as deputy medical director in Afghanistan and is now Director of all IMC activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

IMC is establishing eight static clinics and a mobile clinic unit with the Afghan health care workers trained by IMC more than a decade ago. The clinics will provide immunizations, pre- and postnatal care, and treatment of common illnesses. IMC will offer Afghan health workers refresher courses and additional training in birthing techniques, health care education, and vaccinations skills. By establishing new clinics and by using a mobile unit, IMC can encourage people to stay in their homes, thereby not adding to the already bursting camp population.

Health services in Maslakh are nearly non-existent. Women and children are the most at risk. According to UNICEF, 1,700 out of 100,000 live births result in the mother's death. More than 250 children out of every 1,000 do not live to see their fifth birthdays.

With IMC's return, the resident and internally displaced populations will receive the increased emergency medical support they need. And the entire region will benefit from the hands-on health care training required in order to build capacity and self-reliance.

Founded in 1984, IMC's first program began in Afghanistan, and grew to include the creation of fifty-two clinics and seven hospitals. One of the largest health care training organizations in the war-torn area, it provided education for more than 1,000 doctors, technicians and mid-level health care workers. It was this level of training and capacity building that allowed IMC to hand over its program to local health professionals in 1996.