PRT, GIRoA partner to increase health service in Nangarhar

Members of the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team met with officials from the province’s Public Health Directorate at the Behsood District Center May 7 to discuss health issues across Nangarhar and ways to better connect provincial officials with their district counterparts.

Nangarhar’s Public Health Directorate created a strategic plan aimed at improving healthcare over the next five years, said Dr. Gul Abi Norwal.

The plan focuses on key service delivery shortfalls, such as limited access to healthcare, the poor quality of the available care, and determining the role of the private sector in healthcare issues.

However, even with their relatively sophisticated strategy, the Public Health Directorate said they feel disconnected from other levels of government.

Members of the directorate often expressed frustration about the information flow between the provincial and district levels.

During the Provincial Development Council Feb. 27, Dr. Bas Mohammad Shirzad, Nangarhar’s director of Public Health, complained about organizations building health clinics in Nangarhar without his knowledge or supervision. According to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar PRT commander from Dallas, the May 7 meeting was a substantial step toward solving these communication barriers.

The root of the issue is the province and its subordinate districts often create plans and submit them to the national government without synchronizing their efforts, said Anderson. This is a systemic issue across Nangarhar, not a concern isolated to healthcare.

“We think that one of the main weaknesses within the government is communication,” Anderson explained.

In response to this shortcoming, the PRT created a strategy for connecting the province with its districts through a series of focused meetings, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Scott Fee, Nangarhar PRT civil military operations officer from Virginia Beach, Va.

The meeting established a schedule and plan of attack for the Public Health Directorate, Fee continued. Future discussions will involve provincial officials explaining their plan to the various districts, followed by discussion regarding shortfalls and needs at the district level.

The strategy was met with enthusiasm by the government officials involved in the plan.

“On behalf of the public health department, I am very glad that we’re having this meeting so we can sit down and talk face to face and solve our problems,” said Norwal.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander from Dallas, discusses healthcare issues with representatives from the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from Nangarhar at the Behsood District Center May 7.

Behsood District Development Assembly Chairman Malik Nehmat Halimi discusses healthcare issues at his district center May 7.