MAZAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN – 110 km away from Mazar, in the north of Afghanistan, Kaldar health facility has been largely isolated for decades due to conflict and insecurity.

But since last August, most of the country has opened up and UNICEF teams have, at last, been able to start new programmes to help children live healthier and happier lives.

This district clinic, supported by the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, and the World Bank, is a lifeline for the community. It provides vital health services including nutrition, basic health, maternity care, vaccines, and medicine.

Given the widespread poverty across the country, patients are no longer able to afford private health clinics and so Kaldar health clinic is busier than ever.

While nightshifts in health clinics may be a common phenomenon in many countries, they are not in Afghanistan. And there can be no doubt that these brave and committed nurses are challenging social norms. Not only do they live a long way from home but, once in Kaldar, they stay for one week to staff the clinic throughout the night.

UNICEF-supported nurses can now provide healthcare to patients during the night, from 4pm to 8am.

The local community is happy with the extended hours – especially for pregnant women and new mothers and infants, who need specialized care.

In discussions with patients, I heard that, in the past, women had lost babies, and even lost their own lives, giving birth with no skilled birth attendant. There was a palpable sense of relief that these night nurses would be on call, trained, and ready to support newborn babies and mothers.

Read more: https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/stories/new-24-hour-clinic-offers-prescription-good-health-remote-mazar-community-afghanistan