Transforming the Medical Infrastructure of a Nation
Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Morning Star Development is striving to change this reality through programs like Hope Family Medicine Afghanistan (HFMA), a three-year residency program to train local Afghan doctors. These doctors are being trained to give modern, scientific primary care in a context where strong ethical values are modeled by Afghan and expat teachers.
In the entire country of Afghanistan, HFMA is the only Family Medicine Residency Program certified by the Ministry of Public Health. This program is based in a small private hospital serving a relatively poor area of the city, and has four family medicine graduates training seven male and one female Afghan doctors. These doctors are learning skills in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, emergency, outpatient care and many other areas which prepare them for service as leaders in the healthcare system of Afghanistan. We have plans to expand the curriculum to include faculty development and procedural training. Volunteer doctors are needed to help with teaching residents and faculty.
The World Health Organization states that, “One well-trained family doctor does the work of three medical specialists.” Morning Star Development’s goal is to build the HFMA program in such a way that it makes a significant impact on the medical infrastructure within Afghanistan.