Launch of Ghazni City Hospital and Orphanage brings hope to Afghans

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Ghazni hospital and orphanage project launched, March 9, in Ghazni City, Afghanistan, and construction began, March 11, with the support of the Central Asia Development Group, an implementing partner of the United States Agency for International Development, and Food Insecurity Response for Urban Populations program, a USAID program.

The Ghazni City Orphanage will help Afghan children in Ghazni Province who have lost their parents from war operations or from a lack of access to proper medical treatment.  

There are currently 45 children, originally from Ghazni, Wardak and Paktika provinces, between 7 and 15 years old, who are staying permanently at the Ghazni Orphanage, and there are 120 children who attend classes during the day.

Due to a severe lack of funds, the facility is in need of refurbishment. A very low budget in the Social Affairs Department dedicated for orphanage maintenance has resulted in improper living and learning conditions.   

The orphanage project plans to provide jobs for 201 women and 53 men, who will be employed for 50 days at a total budget of $111,240.50. The women will be divided between the hospital and orphanage as part of a coordinated work stream.  

This project has the full support of the Director of Health, Director of Women’s Affairs, the Director of Ghazni Hospital and the Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team, as well as USAID.

Another problem facing the orphanage is that workers do not have any equipment to wash and clean bed linens or clothes.

CADG is solving the problem of insufficient funding and high unemployment rates in Ghazni City with the help of the FIRUP program. The plan is to refurbish the wards of the Ghazni Hospital and Orphanage. Currently, the buildings require general refurbishment, extensive hygienic cleaning, electric repairs, plumbing works and painting.

The orphanage kitchen and dormitories also require painting, door and window replacements, installation of water pump for hygienic purposes, yard gardening, area cleaning and a small playground.   

The playground equipment has been donated by funds raised from the family of a U.S. civilian who was killed in action in Ghazni.  

For the past 70 years, the Ghazni Provincial Hospital has been in operation, and it is the main healthcare facility in the province. Patients arrive here for treatment from all of the districts in Ghazni province, as well as from Paktika, Wardak, Uruzgan, Zabul and Paktya provinces.

In Afghanistan alone, there are more than 2.1 million orphans whose parents lost their lives to war or improper medical treatment. In fact, Afghanistan has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world: 165 infants out of 1000 births die, and the maternal mortality ratio is just as grim at 1600 deaths per 100,000 births.  

Ghazni City Provincial Hospital, one of the largest medical establishments in southeast Afghanistan, treats more than 67,000 patients per annum. The admission rate is approximately 11,000 patients yearly. The hospital includes pediatric, surgery, internal and maternity wards, malaria treatment and vaccination rooms.