FAPs and PHCs

In Afghanistan, hazardous road conditions and a lack of healthcare facilities impede hundreds of thousands of people living in remote areas of the country from accessing treatment. Our network of First Aid Posts (FAPs) and Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) works to overcome these challenges.

By extending our health network into areas often overlooked, we aim to provide assistance to ill and wounded people as quickly as possible; to broaden access to medical facilities, reaching places far away from larger hospitals; to provide even the smallest villages with medical equipment; and to develop healthcare knowledge within communities.

Since 1999, EMERGENCY has established a network of over 40 FAPs and PHCs throughout Afghanistan, providing routine health checks and essential first aid services. Patients suffering from serious conditions or injuries are stabilised and subsequently transferred to EMERGENCY hospitals by an ambulance service which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Over the years we have developed this network following the map of the conflict. First aid care is crucial, since people isolated districts may struggle to organise or pay for transport over the rough terrain.

Points of reference for local communities

EMERGENCY’s presence in Afghanistan has enabled us to gain an understanding of the needs of local populations and, following specific requests made by local authorities, the scope of our activities has gradually widened since we first began work here.

We built the first FAPs in small isolated villages or mountain passes in heavily mined areas. The network has expanded over the years — at the request of local communities who are turning to us to have a medical and health point of reference in their villages – and today our FAPs and PHCs range from assisting small villages in the Panjshir Valley to vulnerable populations in the heart of Kabul.

At a time when the public health system is under pressure due to the economic crisis and a lack of skilled healthcare workers and medical technicians, the presence of our FAP/PHC network is increasingly important.

Primary Healthcare Centres in Kabul

Since 2001, we have operated PHCs in Kabul to provide medical assistance to vulnerable populations. We currently operate 7 PHCs within two orphanages (one female and one male) and five prisons, including a juvenile rehabilitation centre. Every month, our doctors carry out thousands of visits, treating infectious diseases and respiratory and digestive illnesses. The most serious cases are referred to our hospitals for intensive treatment or surgery.

We previously ran programmes treating inmates at other prisons in the country, at Duab, Panjshir Valley; Sheberghan, in the northern province of Jowzjan, where the most basic of human rights were being neglected; and in Laskhar-Gah, Helmand Province.

In certain cases, alongside the provision of healthcare, we have also been involved in the renovation of sanitation facilities, in the excavation of drinking water wells, and the construction of outdoor recreational space so that the prisoners can have access to fresh air.