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Their diplomas newly framed, some 206 spring graduates of the Faculty of Medicine at Kabul University are receiving two months of intensive training in public health, community-based health care, and clinical standards before taking up their posts at health facilities in the provinces of Afghanistan. Whether bound for clinics supplying primary health care in rural, underserved areas or assigned to provincial hospitals, the Afghan medical graduates of the Class of 2005 are further preparing to meet the challenges ahead. Afghanistan's health statistics include one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates, and the death rate of children under five is largely due to preventable illness. Following opening ceremonies by Dr. S. M. Amin Fatimi, Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health; Dr. Faizullah Kakar, Deputy Minister of Public Health; Mr. Jim Griffin, USAID Afghanistan Health Advisor; and Dr. Fred Hartman, REACH Deputy Technical Director, the students were given an overview of the impact of more than 20 years of armed conflict on the education of health professionals in Afghanistan and approaches to health service delivery.
Expected to play an active role in supporting and strengthening community participation in Afghan health care services, the doctors will spend two days with community health workers in Kabul province, accompanying them on home visits in poor areas and observing their activities in health facilities. The final month of the course will be spent in supervised clinical practice in 11 Kabul-area hospitals. At course completion, a new generation of Afghan doctors will assume their duties throughout the country. |
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The
pre-service course, coordinated by REACH and the Afghan Ministry of Public
Health (MOPH) and taught by staff and specialists of the Ministry, REACH,
WHO, UNICEF, and other organizations, is designed to prepare the new
doctors to join teams delivering the Basic Package of Health Services
and the Essential Package of Hospital Services at their future posts.
The course covers clinical standards in newborn care, prenatal and postnatal
care, family planning, and infectious diseases. The course includes materials
specific to public health in Afghanistan, developed by REACH especially
for the pre-service training.