Afghanistan: Capacity Building of Healthcare Workers
Afghanistan: Capacity Building of Healthcare Workers
Refugee Crisis Foundation is working in Afghanistan to strengthen the healthcare system through capacity building, research, and professional training.
In collaboration with local universities, hospitals, and the Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Higher Education, we aim to equip healthcare workers with the skills and knowledge needed to address critical gaps in service delivery. Our focus includes supporting clinicians through structured training programmes, mentorship, and academic partnerships, ensuring that local professionals are empowered to deliver safe, effective, and sustainable care within their communities.
We conduct high quality research to inform the design, delivery, integration and evaluation of health services. Our research is regularly published and presented at national and international conferences to increase awareness of the plight of refugees living in camps.
Our research interests and outputs have been in the field of oral health and ear and hearing care of refugees living in camps. Our team has conducted the first and only survey to estimate the prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) in the camps. Our reports have found a prevalence of 14% which is the highest recorded globally. To rehabilitate hearing loss due to CSOM, our group has pioneered low-cost bone conduction aids which we are currently trialling in the schools in the camps. We are evaluating the outcomes and impact of this intervention which will inform the scalability of this technology.
Oral disease affects 3.5 billion people with a global prevalence of 45%, making it the most prevalent non-communicable disease (NCD). We have published a study exploring the negative impact that oral health has on the quality of life of refugees living in settlements in Northern Greece. Our research in Bangladesh has found that most of the Rohingya refugees have no access to dental care, very low literacy levels, unhealthy oral hygiene habits, high consumption of tobacco, and high incidence of tooth decay and gum disease. Consequences of untreated oral disease include physical and functional limitations, which can be seen on a personal, population and health systems level. Provision of oral health is usually neglected from routine delivery of healthcare in refugee camps therefore there is a significant unmet need.
Our training and development programme encompasses oral healthcare, medical, surgical, and anaesthetic disciplines. In partnership with local hospitals and health authorities, we will deploy multidisciplinary volunteer teams to Afghanistan to deliver targeted training based on needs identified directly by local institutions. These teams will work alongside Afghan clinicians, providing hands-on clinical mentorship, structured teaching sessions, case-based discussions, and skills workshops tailored to the local disease burden and service gaps. By responding to priorities defined by local hospitals, our approach ensures that training is relevant, context-specific, and sustainable. The aim is not short-term service delivery, but long-term capacity building — strengthening local expertise so that healthcare professionals are equipped to independently manage complex cases and improve patient outcomes within their own communities.
By combining training, research, and local leadership, our goal is to build resilient, locally led healthcare systems that can meet the needs of the Afghan population now and in the future.
