Möhnesee/Hamburg, 2025-03-13. Medical care, especially in rural Afghanistan, is critical. According to the UN Humanitarian Assistance Report 2024, more than 18.1 million people in the provinces have no access to basic medical care. Against this backdrop, Archemed will continue its commitment in Afghanistan. Together with the Afghan Women’s Association (registered association), Archemed will open a mother-and-child day clinic in Kariz Mir in Kabul Province in April.
After the Taliban took power, many aid organizations stopped their work in Afghanistan. Accordingly, the level of hardship is great, as is the need for medical and humanitarian assistance. Ongoing drought and rising unemployment in the provinces are exacerbating poverty and the population’s helplessness. With a share of 80%, women and children are particularly affected.
The reopening of the mother-and-child day clinic in Kariz Mir in the Sharkardara district will provide a medical point of contact for a total of 17,000 people from 27 surrounding villages. In addition to the main clinic, four additional village health posts will be set up and staffed by local volunteer (birth) assistants. This will enable pregnant women to receive care and treatment in the health center as part of obstetric services; in addition, emergency treatment and vaccinations also play an important role. “For the first time, we are supporting a project in rural Afghanistan. With the Afghan Women’s Association, we have an experienced and trusted partner at our side,” explains Hubertus Bömer, Treasurer at Archemed. The project is initially time-limited and will run until the end of 2027.
Since 2012, the Afghan Women’s Association has operated mother-and-child clinics in the very rural and in some places extremely mountainous Kabul Province—the clinic in Kariz Mir will be run by the association together with Archemed. This clinic will also help to reduce the maternal and child mortality rate again. With an estimated 620 deaths per 100,000 live births, maternal and child mortality in Afghanistan has once again become the second highest worldwide within just a few months. At the same time, malnutrition in Afghanistan is becoming one of the most common causes of illness and death among children. “According to UN surveys, around 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and approximately 875,000 children are also affected,” says Christina Ihle, Managing Director of the Afghan Women’s Association.
To continue the project, Archemed is asking for donations: www.archemed.org/spenden, donation account IBAN: DE63 4145 0075 0000 0882 03 (Sparkasse Hellweg-Lippe).