World Health Organization
منظمة الصحة العالمية
Organisation mondiale de la Santé

President honors hospital supported by WHO with an award

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Kabul, 8 January 2017

President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani has honored a Kabul hospital run by an Italian NGO Emergency with the national Said Jamaluddin Afghan medal in a ceremony held in Kabul.

World Health Organization Afghanistan supports Emergency, providing essential medical supplies including emergency trauma kits and training health workers on mass casualty management, and trauma care services.

Emergency is also supported by WHO through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) financial contribution in Helmand as well the Common Humanitarian Fund of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kabul.

Emergency_coordinator_Dejan_Panic_receives_medal_from_presidentEmergency coordinator Dejan Panic receives medal from president Ghani

In the ceremony, the president also granted a Certificate of Honor to the Emergency Hospital staff for their invaluable service to the victims of conflict. 

In his speech, the president noted that the Emergency Hospital in Kabul and its branches in the provinces have helped the Afghans in their most difficult and unstable times and noted that the services provided by Emergency included the transportation of those injured in terrorist attacks and emergencies, and providing first aid.

Further, the president added that he had been happy to see positive improvements in the infrastructure, cleanliness, management, coordination and commitment of the Emergency hospital and that he has ordered the Ministry of Public Health to support the hospital financially.

Emergency provides life-saving and emergency trauma care services in areas where there are no or little access to health facilities. The NGO supports first aid trauma post (FATP) network located in Ghazni, Logar, Parwan, Paktia, Maidan Wardak and Kapisa, with provision of personnel, drugs, trauma kits, cleaning materials and repairing and maintaining the facilities.

Decades of fighting have meant a high number of civilian victims, refugees and disabled persons in Afghanistan. Civilian casualties increased as the nature of attacks changed and more persons were caught in the crossfire of large scale offensives. Attacks against health facilities, patients, medical staff and vehicles continue to disrupt and deprive people of life-saving treatment, making the national health systems extremely vulnerable.

The effects of violence against health care extend beyond the attack and its immediate consequences, affecting the entire population depending on them for adequate health care. Many health facilities have been damaged as a result of the fighting or have been closed due to insecurity, particularly in remote areas of the country.

Dejan Panic, the Program Coordinator of the Emergency Hospital Afghanistan stated that receiving the National Medal of Said Jamaluddin Afghan “is an honor for the Hospital” and added that the staff of the Emergency Hospital are committed to continue their healthcare services for Afghans.