- System Enhancement for Health Action in Transition (SEHAT):
In January 2014, Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) granted a contract award to BDN under Systems Enhancement for Health Action in Transition (SEHAT) project to deliver BPHS in Balkh province up to December 2016, based on evolution conducted by MOPH the project extended till end of June 2018. The Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) services delivered to 1,350,304 inhabitants of the province through 116 Health Facilities (HF) including five District Hospitals (DH), 3 Comprehensive Health Centers Plus (CHC+), 11 Comprehensive Health Centers (CHC), 45 Basic Health Centers (BHC), 51 Health Sub Centers (SHC), and one Prison Health Center (PHC). The Community-Based Health Care (CBHC) is provided through 900 Health Posts (HP) comprising 1,800 Community Health Workers (CHW), nearly half of whom were women. The first six months of Sehatmandi Project with the same scope of SEHAT-iii were also implemented from July –December 2018.
- Community Midwifery Education and Community Health Nursing Education (CME/CHNE):BDN implemented CME/CHNE programs in Balkh province under its SEHAT project. The education programs trained 24 community midwives and 24 community health nurses by using CME/CHNE strategies. The 24 months mentioned education program was completed in October 2019, They will be deployed to their related remote area as well. Both programs were accredited by using up-to-date national CME/CHNE standards of MoPH, Ghazanfar Institute of Health Science (GIHS) and Afghanistan Midwifery and Nursing Education Accreditation Board (AMNEAB)
- Emergency Response to Drought in Northern Afghanistan (ERDNA): In response to the onset of drought in Balkh province, BDN in partnership with CARE started the project to improve the health, economic condition, hygiene behaviors and practices, and to protect the most vulnerable people affected by drought. Specifically, the project combines life-saving health, hygiene promotion, emergency multipurpose cash assistance, and protection mainstreaming interventions that will help alleviate suffering and save lives of the most vulnerable drought-affected individuals. The total number of people affected in the target area was 36,614 males and 33,797 females. The project, specifically targeted 11,808 women/girls and 12,792 men/boys from approximately 4,100 households (including 400 IDP families) in one of the six most severely impacted provinces, Balkh. CARE and BDN established and launched a community based surveillance system in Khulm and Chaharkent districts of Balkh province to enable the 150 selected Community Health Workers (CHWs) and other Community-based Surveillance (CBS) focal points to conduct community based surveillance of the communicable diseases and malnutrition, identify and report the cases to Community Health Supervisors (CHS) in the related health facilities. BDN provided treatment of communicable disease as per the routine work plans of BPHS project, and CARE enhanced the capacity of the CHW on community based IMNCI.
- Government Health Assistance Program: in order to address high levels of poverty that has resulted in increased prevalence of malnutrition and other diseases in mothers and children, the Cabinet of the National Unity Government of Afghanistan decided, in accordance with the Decree No. 13 dated 2 November, 2012, to support the poor women through “Government Health Assistance to Disadvantaged Women” throughout the country. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan financed the program and direct users of this program were about two million women across the country including 108,800 women in Balkh.The program aims to cause more women to come to health centers, which will increase vaccine coverage and reduce maternal and child mortality through pre-natal and post-natal visits, as well as other health goals. The network of BPHS HFs implements the Program and the assistance is provided to all women when attending the BHCs, CHCs and DHs for receiving health services.
- Community-Based Nutrition Program (CBNP)
BDN started community-based nutrition program in Balkh in 2018 and completed on April 2019. The project was founded by USAID/IHSAN project and implemented with partnership of FHI360. The program aims were to enhance the capacity of community health workers (CHWs) and Family Health Action Groups (FHAGs) to provide community-based nutrition services, to increase general knowledge about nutrition and to improve nutrition-related practices through education and counseling to the mothers, children caregivers and family members on key nutrition practices and behavior. The program also strengthens the relationship and linkage between health centers and community for early detection and management of malnourished cases. the CBNP program implemented through 900 HPs, 1769 CHWs and 3600 members of community mobilizing team were trained and involved in the implementation of the program.
