"Signing these contracts proves the reality that the Ministry for Public Health prioritizes the quality and quantity of health services, especially in the rural areas of the country," Afghan acting minister for public health Faizullah Kakar told reporters after singing the agreements.
Under the agreement, the 12 NGOs including six international ones will establish 55 sub-center clinics and 16 mobile health teams in 19 of the countries 34 provinces at the cost of 7.6 million U.S. dollars this year, the official added.
He also added that more agreements with NGOs for establishing 63 sub-centers and six more mobile health teams would be inked in September.
The sub-centers and health mobile teams would cover far-flanged and mountainous areas where it is difficult to construct hospitals.
There are around 38,000 villages in Afghanistan and each sub-center, Kakar added, would cover 5,000 people in the countryside.
Health sector has been much improved over the past nearly seven years in Afghanistan as more than 85 percent of Afghans today have access to health facilities while during Taliban regime the facility was hardly available for even five percent of Afghans.
