UNFPA AFGHANISTAN

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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) assistance to Afghanistan commenced in 1976 with a focus on family planning. As huge numbers of people fled Afghanistan, UNFPA besides continuing to support inside the country, started supporting refugees in Pakistan and Iran with Reproductive Health (RH) services (including Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmOC) services, Family Planning and training).

In 2002 UNFPA established its Afghanistan Country Office (CO) in Kabul. Between late 2001 and early 2004, UNFPA provided RH assistance including rehabilitation of three maternity hospitals in Kabul, provision of logistical support for and delivery of maternity health care services.

The Standard Technical Assistance Agreement (STAA) between the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations (UN), dated 10 May 1956, constitutes the legal basis for the relationship between the Government of Afghanistan and UNFPA.

The UNFPA areas of intervention in Afghanistan:

• a. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
• b. GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
• c. POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The major partners of UNFPA in Afghanistan are the Minister of Public Health (MoPH), the Ministry of Women Affairs (MoWA), the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) and several NGO. The work with CSO focused on strengthening its capacity towards collecting, processing and analyzing data.

UNFPA AFGHANISTAN - A BRIEF HISTORY

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) started its operation in Afghanistan in 1976, with its primary focus on family planning (FP). When political upheavals in the late 1970s prompted large numbers of Afghans to flee the country and take refuge in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, UNFPA extended the scope of its interventions to reach refugees in both Iran and Pakistan, where it supported reproductive health services including Emergency Obstetric Care, Family Planning, and training of service providers. In 2002 UNFPA first established its country office in Kabul, and between 2002 and 2004, supported the rehabilitation of three major maternity hospitals in Kabul, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Read more