The Rural Expansion of Afghanistan's Community-based Healthcare (REACH) is expanding health services in Afghanistan through a USAID-funded grants program. To date, REACH Grants total over $70 million to international and Afghan nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) providing primary health care to women and children in underserved areas of the country and training for midwives, doctors and nurses.
Drawing on its experience with the Afghan cross-border project during the 1980's and 90's and in Haiti, MSH has worked within the guidelines of Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) to develop a performance-based grants mechanism with clear standards for health services and financial accountability. Payments to grantee NGOs are tied to pre-determined deliverables, including for example, the utilization and submission of quality health data through the newly designed National Health Management Information System. Once the grantees have been selected, REACH continues to work alongside the MOPH to develop the grant program and to monitor and manage the activities of grantees. REACH Community Health Technical Advisors and Grant Officers provide ongoing technical and management assistance to all NGO grantees to facilitate program implementation.
REACH has awarded 62 USAID-funded grants and subcontracts totaling $70 million for service delivery and training of health workers
Twelve RFAs (requests for grant applications) from NGOs and acceptance of a limited number of unsolicited applications have resulted in the issuance of grants supporting the work of 28 international and Afghan NGOs delivering health services in 110 districts of 14 Afghan provinces and training programs for midwives, doctors and nurses.
REACH funds 326 health facilities and provides $8 million in essential pharmaceuticals
Roughly $55 million out of the total of $70 million dollars in grants awarded is designated to support health service delivery. REACH grantees supply $8 million in essential pharmaceuticals and provide access to a basic package of health services in areas with an overall population of 7.1 million people. Of this figure 1.5 million women of reproductive age and 1 million children under five now have increased access to health services in Afghanistan. A total of 326 health facilities are in operation in the provinces of Baghlan, Badakhshan, Bamyan, Herat, Jawzjan, Kabul, Ghazni, Ghor, Takhar, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Ghazni, and Kandahar.
REACH implements $3.9 million in unsolicited grants for USAID-priority activities
In addition to service and training grants to NGOs, REACH manages 4 additional grants: a residency training program for doctors and nurses, an orthopedic rehabilitation facility, Loma Linda University support to Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, and integrated community development activities focusing on female health volunteers.
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