The Embassy of the Republic of Korea recently signed a grant agreement for about US $1 million with WHO to support Afghanistan’s fight against COVID-19, implement a six-month project to strengthen access to quality health care among the most vulnerable populations.
The project is expected to bolster efforts to increase COVID-19 testing across the country through the provision of specimen collection kits for 15 rapid response teams (RRTs). The agreement also included equipment delivery such as diagnostic kits for the Ministry of Public Health to cover the testing of 50 000 people and testing material for the rapid response teams and RRTs and laboratory technicians across the country to test 10 520 people. The project will play a critical role in improving awareness about COVID-19 through community-based engagement, targeting 314 900 people across priority regions and building field teams’ capacity to better engage and communicate with communities.
The Korean assistance is intended to address urgent COVID-19 health needs and contribute towards building a more resilient health system.
The Government of the Republic of Korea has been a long-standing supporter of Afghanistan’s health sector and has collaborated with WHO on several initiatives such as capacity-building of Rapid Response Teams during the 2019 drought and facilitating international training of health workers on primary health care.