Acting Minister of Public Health Dr. Suraya Dalil announced the “H4 Plus Action Plan on Improving Maternal and Newborn Health in Afghanistan” at an International Women’s Day celebration in Kabul on Sunday.  The H4 Plus Initiative, which involves four UN health agencies – UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS - plus the World Bank, is a multi-sector and harmonized approach to accelerate efforts to save the lives of women and newborns and to achieve the targets set in the Millennium Development Goal of Improving Maternal Health.

Improving the health of women, children, and families requires attention to gender inequities and the barriers that keep people from accessing health services.  The Ministry of Public Health, with USAID support, is working to implement gender-sensitive programming to reduce maternal mortality and improve reproductive health.

Acting Minister Dalil stressed that reduced maternal mortality is not just a health target, but an import goal for socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan.

USAID, through the Health Services Support Project, supported the Ministry to develop the National Gender Strategy, which serves as a model for other Ministries.  USAID also supports gender awareness and gender-based violence training for health providers, as well as formative research to identify barriers faced by women and girls to health services utilization and the adoption of healthy behaviors.

“USAID is committed to our continued partnership with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the United Nations, international donors, and civil-society organizations to improve the lives of Afghanistan’s mothers and daughters,” said USAID Mission Director Earl Gast.  “On behalf of the American people, I thank you for your tireless efforts to save lives and for your contributions to a brighter future in Afghanistan.”

International Women's Day is celebrated globally each year on March 8, as a day of global recognition, respect, and appreciation for women's economic, political, and social achievements.  The theme for the 2011 International Women’s Day is “Equal Access to Education, Training, and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women.”