Improving Access to Women's Health: A Project for Afghanistan

August 20-24, 2015

About Afghanistan

Although Afghanistan's health statistics have been one of the worst, it has seen major improvements within the past decade. One of the main problems people faced was the difficulty accessing hospitals or trained professionals, especially in rural areas. The number of health facilities in Afghanistan have seen a major increase from 496 to 2,047 in the past decade. [2]. Another improvement was the increase of trained medical staff, 74% being females [1]. The health in Afghanistan has seen an overall improvement because of the advances it has made, but they still face many challenges. Afghan women suffer from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, however, it has dropped from 1,600 per 100,000 births in 2000 to 327 in 2010 [3].

About the Program

The IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders. Over the last 70 years, the IVLP has developed into the premier professional exchange program in the U.S. and brings over 200 emerging leaders to Jacksonville every year.

[1] http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/04/18/afghanistan-better-health-outcomes-women-children-poor

[2] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15942940

[3] http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/04/18/afghanistan-better-health-outcomes-women-children-poor