KABUL, Afghanistan – The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan completed refurbishment on two clinics in the Darah-ye Nur District of Nangarhar province recently.
It was the first project completed by the government since the new Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team arrived, Oct. 31.
The $66,000 construction job, which took more than a year and a half to complete, added a waiting room, a food storage room for helping malnourished children and a delivery room to the clinics.
“The completion of the two clinics in Darah-ye Nur District shows how GIRoA can step up to the plate and take control of their country,” said Air Force 2nd Lt. James Elliott, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team civil engineer. “They are projects the Afghans can take pride in. Furthermore, after speaking with the doctors who will inherit each of the clinics, they are thankful and appreciative of support provided by the PRT.”
Afghanistan’s health system ranks 173 out of 190 countries according to the World Health Organization in 2000 (the most recent year ranking occurred). Because of this, the reconstruction team placed an emphasis on improving the healthcare infrastructure in Nangarhar. Over the past six years, the provincial government worked side-by-side with the reconstruction team on nearly 40 different projects related to healthcare.
The two clinics will serve roughly 25,000 people in the district and assist in delivering approximately 75 children per month, said Dr. Baz Mohammad Shirzad, provincial public health director.
Shirzad also praised the reconstruction for their assistance, citing the location of the centers as the main advantage of the project. Because the clinics are built in a highly rural area, the people of Darah-ye Nur who rarely visit more advanced urban hospitals now have a viable, sophisticated healthcare option readily available.
Beyond improving the public health situation in Darah-ye Nur, the construction project also helped boost the local economy, said Javed Khan, director of Shakil Javed Construction Company, the organization who completed the refurbishments. The entire task employed 24 Afghan workers, all of whom, from the unskilled laborers to the building’s engineer and supervisor, were residents of Darah-ye Nur.
| Date Taken: |
11.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: |
11.24.2010 05:24 |
| Story ID: |
60786 |
| Location: |
KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: |
35 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
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