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Fifth FMIC International Conference focuses on maternal and child health​

October 9, 2015

Participants reaffirmed their commitment to reducing preventable deaths among women and children in Afghanistan – the Kabul Declaration for Maternal and Child Health – on the first day of the French Medical Institute for Children’s fifth international conference.

This year’s conference is on Emerging Trends in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) in Developing Countries in response to the global Call to Action to mobilize countries to promote maternal and child health.

Afghanistan has made remarkable progress over the last decade. There has been a 10-fold increase in community health workers, over 3,300 midwives are now available at government healthcare facilities (up from 489 midwives in 2002), vaccination has increased significantly and stunting has decreased by 1/3 in the last decade.

But several challenges remain including unequal health coverage between provinces and between urban and rural areas. In her opening remarks, Dr Farida Mohmand, Minister of Higher Education spoke about the importance of “knowledge exchange and research in identifying health interventions that can produce tangible results.” Innovative partnerships between higher education institutions, the private sector and healthcare units are essential to discovering the evidence base towards change she added.

“Capacity building and monitoring performance on a number of indicators are part of Afghanistan’s Call to Action and vital to improving maternal and child health care services,” said Mr Jean-Michel Marlaud, Ambassador of France to Afghanistan as he described Agence Française de Développement support to the RMNCH agenda.

Mrs Nurjehan Mawani, Diplomatic Representative, Aga Khan Development Network explained how FMIC’s initiatives to improve healthcare in Afghanistan have ranged from “clinical services to medical education, from improving access to quality health services to technical support to upgrading nursing education.” In addition, FMIC will be expanding its services to cover maternal health once the new Women’s Wing opens next year.

The first day also heard discussions on public health and how to continue to promote public-private partnerships as a strategy in bringing quality health services to Afghanistan. In some provinces, such partnerships have already been successful: the 

Afghanistan Health and Nutrition survey, conducted in select districts and provinces, shows a steady decline in fertility with promising child mortality indicators in Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan and Bamyan provinces. 

The participants also discussed the importance of improving maternal health literacy among mothers through antenatal education and the need for increased investment in health system to facilitate implementation of cost effective solution for mother and child healthcare.

The conference was also attended by representatives from ministries, embassies, AKDN agencies, national and international NGOs, civil society, healthcare providers around Afghanistan and media.​