Abdullah Abdullah commends FMIC for healthcare services

KABUL: The French Medical institute for Children (FMIC) started the Vision and Dental Care Services the other day. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah was the chief guest.

Abdullah during his address appreciated the FMIC services and said the Afghan government would continue to support FMIC in future as it is one of the best tertiary care facilities in Afghanistan.

Vision and Dental Care Services at FMIC is built on an area of around 4,200 sq. ft. on Expanded Medical Complex Land with the financial assistance of Government of France with a total project cost of €475,000. The new centre is equipped with internationally trained staff and state-of-art equipment. The new unit will be offering world class vision care and dental care services to the local population. The Vision Center consists of four examination rooms, a Laser room, an optic coherence tomography room, Auto-reflectomatry room, two assessment rooms and eyeglasses store. The services at Vision Care include Cataract surgeries, PHECO, Glaucoma, Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK Eye Surgery) and Avastin Injection. �It is expected that the center will provide around 200,000 consulting clinic visits, 32,000 Day Surgeries and 66,000 Procedures in the next 15 years.

The Dental Clinic will offer four Dental Units including dental X-Rays, OPG services, Sterilizer room, Suction room, Compressor room and IT room with UPS room providing services in Comprehensive diagnostic, Cosmetic procedures, Root canals and Routine services. It is expected that in the next 15 years this clinic will perform 49,000 dental procedures and 47,000 Clinic visits.

The FMIC was founded in 2006 as a unique public-private partnership between the Governments of France and Afghanistan, the Aga Khan Development Network and a French NGO – La Chaine de L’Espoir/Enfants Afghans. The Institute has risen to the challenge of charting a course towards sustainable health solutions for Afghanistan. Advances have been made in both immediate service delivery and long-term policy planning. �FMIC, an 85 bed paediatric hospital, was originally envisioned as a mother and child hospital. The first phase, the children’s hospital has been operating successfully since November 2005 while in its second stage FMIC is moving towards a Mother and Child Hospital on the current three-acre facility. The next stage of development will involve developing a tertiary care facility on the additional 17-acre land adjacent to FMIC.

Acting Public Health Minister Suraya Dalil, France’s Ambassador to Kabul Jean Michel Marlaud, Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in Afghanistan Nurjehan Mawani, Chairman, Provisional Operating Committee of FMIC Lee Hilling, Vice President Health Services Aga Khan University Salim Hahsam, President of the French NGO La Chaine de L’Espoir Dr Eric Cheysson, Regional Chief Executive Officer Aga Khan University (AKU) Nadeem Khan and AFD Country Director Jocelyn Leveneur were also present on the occasion.