Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on Tuesday said that maternal health was its top priority and would continue to upgrade mother healthcare services in the country.
In a media statement issued here, the deputy minister for finance and administrative affairs of MoPH, Abdul Basir Sarwar, said the ministry was committed to reduce the maternal mortality cases to 250 in 100,000 births. Sarwar said that child mortality would be decreased to 25 in each 1,000 births by 2020 in the country.
He termed the progress made in the health sector in the past as satisfactory, especially in the area of mother healthcare. “Maternal mortality decreased from 1,600 to 327 cases from 2002 to 2010. Prenatal health services increased from 10 percent to 60 percent in the same period, which is another great success. Family planning programs also progressed well,” he said.
The deputy minister further said that establishment of nursing and midwifery training centers and expansion of health services to different provinces, particularly remote areas, are other successful programs aimed to improve maternal health.
He underlined insecurity, mid-level literacy and lack of awareness among women about their health, and children, shortage of professional female health workers in remote areas, lack of transportation facilities and social taboos as main challenges before the health ministry.
