Telemedicine

Telemedicine’s:

Our Approach and Methodology

Ongoing conflict and frequent disasters in Afghanistan contribute to waves of population displacement, mass casualty incidents and outbreaks of communicable diseases leading to disruption of the health system that is already overburdened. The unstable context has put considerable strain on the already fragile and under-resourced health system.

Recognizing the geographical situation and the limited human and infrastructure resources, the use of telemedicine appears to be an adequate means of reaching the population in areas that are difficult to access. Therefore, HEALTHO with the technical and financial support of ADAV started Telemedicine Services in Six Provinces (Helmand, Kunduz, Balkh, Badakhshan, Sar-Pul  & Ghazni).

HEALTHO aims to extend the telemedicine services to most parts of Afghanistan through use of most updated and advance technology.

HEALTHO Telemedicine program includes;

• Tele-consultation,
• Tele-diagnostics,
• E-learning of medical education for students of medical universities in Kabul, Balkh and Herat provinces

The telemedicine services will help to overcome geographic and security-related inaccessibility and thus contribute to improved care in remote areas across the country. The establishment of a tele-medical network will contribute to strengthening the public capacity in the health sector.

Telemedicine Services are needed in Afghanistan due to the following reasons;

• Limited technical capacity in human capital
• Inadequate financing for key health programs
• Lack of access to health due to dispersed population, geographical barriers, and lack of transportation infrastructure
• Poor quality of health and social services
• Lack of security for successful implementation of programs
• Lack of mechanisms for effective regulation of for‐profit private sector clinics and pharmacies
• Health financing system inefficiently managed and limited coverage
• Health information system poorly developed