Women are at the heart of HealthNet TPO. They are our doctors, our nurses, our midwives, counsellors, social workers, lab technicians, community health workers, finance officers, project managers and many more. It is through our female colleagues that we can reach women and children, the most vulnerable group in Afghanistan, to improve their health and wellbeing. Most women can only be helped by female health professionals. Without them, we will be unable to provide life-saving aid, preventing women from accessing healthcare.

The recent ban on women working for NGOs comes on top of the closure of secondary schools and the ban on women attending universities. Not allowing women to study and to work is detrimental to all. Female workers are critical to the provision of humanitarian aid and healthcare in Afghanistan. The ban limits humanitarian access and will have a devastating effects on the future of the country. Afghanistan needs more female doctors and nurses, not fewer. The lives of women and children are at stake.  

Currently, HealthNet TPO can continue all health activities within health facilities managed by the organisation as our female colleagues have not been prohibited from working here. This must not change. 

However, our female staff within our offices who play an essential part in the functioning of the organisation and the delivery of our health projects have been affected as well as our health activities that support women and children directly within their communities. 

HealthNet TPO cannot and does not want to function without the full and safe employability of its female colleagues. The organisation is committed to working with (I)NGOs, the UN, donors and all relevant stakeholders to ensure this situation is resolved so that we are able to return to supporting the Afghan people across society, helping them to meet their urgent needs, rebuild livelihoods and create a peaceful, healthier future. 

Update 08.02.23

In some regions, through negotiations with local authorities women have been allowed to return to work in our offices and we have been able to restart our activities within these areas. We will continue negotiations to bring all our female colleagues back to work. 

HealthNet TPO supports the people of Afghanistan since 1994, improving the lives of millions of people through projects focussed on health, mental health and disease prevention and control. The organisation runs 23 projects in 19 provinces across the country delivering basic and specialised healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support services and emergency health interventions. More than 6,200 staff work for HealthNet TPO in Afghanistan, 2,016 of whom are female. In 2021, 2.3 million people received treatment through 135 primary and secondary health centres. Amongst many achievements, the organisation treated more than 66,000 children under five for severe acute malnutrition and provided emergency humanitarian support to almost 600,000 vulnerable people particularly women and children.

In the early 2000’s, HealthNet TPO was a driving force in transforming the female health workforce in Afghanistan to improve the mortality rates of women and children. Through our training programmes for female midwives, nurses and health professionals we helped to save lives and improve the health of women and children and continue to do so.