...|||... IbnSina ...|||... Reaching out the Underprivileged....

Dear Readers
Nearly a decade from its inception, IbnSina has finally come of age as an organization. Looking back through the years, we at IbnSina recognize that our greatest strength lies in the dedication and hard work of IbnSina staff. IbnSina prides itself in the honesty and genuine commitment of its staff, and the transparency of its systems. This we believe has kept IbnSina going from strength to strength, even in the most difficult conditions. Communities and groups of diversely different political beliefs have learned to respect IbnSina for its genuine intent to assist suffering humanity, and have come together to support and assist it in its efforts.

While in 2004 IbnSina experienced rapid and significant expansion in its work areas, 2005 was
devoted to consolidating its expansion and strengthening its weaknesses as an organization.

IbnSina improved its finance management system, by developing a tailor-made soft-ware for
maintaining financial records of such a vast and complex operation. The new leadership of the
organization inducted fresh ideas and talents, further strengthening and enhancing available resources.

This however, is only a beginning. IbnSina is poised to take off in new directions in the coming
months and years, when it plans to expand its international operations and to take initial steps in
the field of formal education initiating widely different levels of activities ranging from establishing
a private school to initiating a Masters degree course in Public Health at its Institute of Public Health.

In conclusion I wish to honor the memories of the two martyrs of IbnSina, Mohammad Nadir and
Abdul Zahir, who lost their lives in Helmand while on a supply mission to IbnSina health facilities in
Helmand . IbnSina remembers them as heroes. May Allah reward them and comfort their
bereaved families.

IbnSina Public Health Program Afghanistan is a non-governmental, non-political, no-profit
organization, working primarily in the health sector. In addition to its health care interventions,
IbnSina is also involved in integrated development activities in the education, training and
rehabilitation/ reconstruction sectors. True to its committed and dynamic character, in the
year 2005 IbnSina Afghanistan forged ahead, making new inroads into areas where its services
were most needed. Undeterred by conditions on the ground, IbnSina successfully established
health care programs in volatile and dangerous provinces of Afghanistan such as Helmand and
Zabul. It used its extensive experience and close ties with the local communities to work out
creative and innovative approaches, which enabled it to reach a maximum number of its target
beneficiaries. With true pioneer spirit, IbnSina staff continued to work in some of the most life
threatening conditions, committed to the service of the needy despite the brutal assassination of
two of its staff members, who were killed on their way back to Helmand from a re-supply
mission to remotely located health facilities.

Established the first Institute of Public Health in Kabul, and constructed 90%
of a multi-storey building to house the IbnSina Public Health Institute.
Started its first ever international operation in the earthquake affected northern
areas of Pakistan , establishing Basic Health Clinics in remote rural areas.
Became trustee to the Asian Development Bank, providing funding to
health care projects implemented by CHA and AKDN in Ghor and Badakhshan
provinces.
Provided initial and refresher training workshops for 3,359 Afghan health care
providers, including IbnSina staff, as well as staff of the Ministry of Public
Health and other national and international health NGOs. These trainees
included 999 MD doctors and nurses/ midwives working in REACH-funded
Basic Package of Health Services projects in Paktia, Paktika, Kandahar and
Khost, for whom IbnSina conducted 46 refresher training workshops supported
by a USAID REACH funded project.
Provided three-phase intensive initial training to 1951 male and female
community health workers, and deployed them in the community health posts,
to provide first level basic health services in remote rural communities, and
refer complicated cases to clinics or hospitals as needed

Facilitated timely procurement of 177.16 metric tons of pharmacy supplies and other equipments for IbnSina and MRCA health facilities. Of these 60 tons were procured for MRCA (French NGO operating in Afghanistan ). All 122 health facilities and 1085 Health Posts were supplied regularly and on time.
Implemented community midwife training projects in Sar-e-pul and Laghman provinces, and supported the midwifery training program in IHS Mazar, training a total of over 200 trainee midwives.
The HMIS section, which is the information hub of the organization, provided accurate and timely health data reports, and successfully completed four baseline demographic household surveys in Badkhshan , Ghor, Laghman and Bamyan, and conducted a mid-term survey (LQAS) in Paktia. IbnSina also conducted a baseline demographic household survey for MRCA (French NGO) in Logar.

Community Midwifery Education students in Mazar IHS

Constructed a 100-meter suspension bridge over the confluence of the Kabul and Laghman rivers, in Kas Aziz Khan Village , Laghman.
Implemented a Water and Sanitation project in Laghman and Zabul provinces, digging 48 wells, rehabilitating 10 existing wells to provide safe drinking water to local populations in two districts in each province, digging 150 pit latrines and 150 surface latrines in Zabul and Laghman respectively, laying a piped water scheme in Laghman with two water reservoirs and 140 zinc pipes with taps, and rehabilitating the drainage
system in a local bazaar in Charbagh Laghman.

Contributed to the national reconstruction effort by building and rehabilitating clinic and hospital structures, roads and bridges, courtesy of the IbnSina Engineering Department.
Operated an Afghan women’s knitting center in Kabul , which provided income generation opportunities to 13 semi-literate and non-literate women, and training in hand and machine knitting to over 700 Afghan women.
Successfully completed nine financial audits for its various donors with reputed audit firms including Ford Rhod Sidat Hayder and Co., A. F. Ferguson and Co., Zeshan Ali and Co. and Elliot Gulf .

To provide academic research facilities for health professionals and senior managers IbnSina established Afghanistan’s first ever Institute of Public Health in Kabul and plans to offer Masters Degree courses in Public Health, and other training and academic courses for health care professionals, initially in collaboration with other international institutes in India, Holland and Pakistan.

The mission of IbnSina’s capacity building program is to improve standards of Health, Management of Health Care and related programs, through management, research, consultation and institutional networking trainings at the national level.

The IbnSina Public Health Institute will offer Masters Degree level courses for health professionals. IbnSina signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Management for Development Foundations of the Netherlands , the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) and the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) Peshawar , agreeing to conduct initial trainings in partnership with the mentioned institutions. The aim is to equip health
professionals with the knowledge and skills they need in the context of the increasingly complex challenges of managing health care, so that they can respond to these challenges effectively.

The IPH campus is located in Ahmadshah Baba Mina, a newly developing suburb of Kabul that offers a peaceful environment for education and research, away from the noise and commotion of the city centre. Construction of the Institute building is underway and 95% work on the first five floors has been completed.

Acting without delay, IbnSina started offering short training courses in 2005, even while the building of the Institute was under construction. The following training courses were offered:-

S/N	Name of Course	# of Participants	Duration	Conducted by
1	Project Planning M&E	26	8 days	MDF
2	Hospital Management	32	6 days	IIHMR
3	Training of Trainers	8	9 days	MDF
4	Organization Development	29	6 days	MDF
Total 95

IbnSina plans to offer its first Masters Degree Course for Afghan health professionals in 2006, in collaboration with the Institute of Management Sciences of Peshawar Pakistan .

Project Cycle Management Course conducted by IbnSina in collaboration of the Management for Development Foundation of the Netherlands

Having expanded extensively as an organization in Afghanistan, IbnSina made its first move outside Afghanistan extending its mission to serve humanity in need, rather than just Afghans in Afghanistan. Thus IbnSina Afghanistan has the proud privilege of being the first Afghan NGO to start international operations and provide life-giving services to vulnerable humanity, wherever they are.

IbnSina clinic in Havelian camp for Earthquake displaced people, in NWFP Pakistan

The massive earthquake of October 2005 that caused large scale devastation in many parts of northern Pakistan , prompted IbnSina to step in. Starting with an initial assistance of woollen clothes for the affected, IbnSina went on to establish a Basic Health Centre in Dadar and Batagram, for the people affected by the earthquake. IbnSina plans to expand this program by establishing five more clinics where they are needed in the earthquake devastated north, to provide basic health care services during the severe winter ahead, thus preventing undue morbidity and mortality among some of the most vulnerable people.

Armed with its expertise and experience in primary health care, IbnSina plans to continue its PHC services in Northern Pakistan for another year, and to help in the establishment of a model Primary Health Program in Batagram area.

Confident of its technical capacity and human resources, IbnSina is also exploring needs in countries such as Sudan , and plans to expand to those and other regions, as and when possible.

IbnSina was the first Afghan NGO to be selected as a trustee with the Asian Development Bank, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, provided technical support and funding amounting to a total of 2.4 million US dollars, to health care projects implemented by the Aga Khan Development Network and CHA – an Afghan NGO, which provided the Basic Package of Health Services in Badakhshan and Ghor provinces of Afghanistan .

In October 2005, IbnSina Afghanistan completed construction of a 100-meter-long and 2.3-meter-wide suspension bridge benefiting over 50,000 people, by linking Kas Aziz Khan and Charbagh, two large villages of Qarghai district of Laghman province, lying on the opposite banks of the confluence of the Kabul and Alingar rivers. The bridge supported on 11 meter high pillars (from excavation to top), and using cables of 40 millimeter diameter, weighs two tons and is capable of sustaining a load of five tons. This means a Land Cruiser, Flying Coach, Pickup truck, or car can pass over it safely.

Before the construction began, three square kilometers of land along either side of the river, was useless swamp. IbnSina drained the swamp land and was able to reclaim valuable agricultural land, at the same time making the construction of the bridge a possibility.

In addition to the bridge, IbnSina constructed an 800 meters long 6.5 meters wide and 3.5 meters high retaining wall along the Charbagh side of the river. The retaining wall along the Kas Aziz Khan side of the river measures 1160 meters in length, 4 meters in width, and 3.5 meters in height. These walls will protect acres of valuable agricultural land from soil erosion during future seasonal flooding, on both banks of the river.

The bridge will enable the communities of Charbagh and Kas Aziz Khan to share their resources and thus improve and enrich their lives. Kas Aziz Khan, though located along the highway between Jalalabad and Kabul , is by far, one of the most severely underserved villages of Laghman with regard to access to basic education and other facilities.

With the considerably shortened distance between the two villages, Kas residents will now have easy access to the education facilities in Charbagh. Residents of Charbagh on the other hand, will have access to a shorter route to transport their agricultural produce to the highway inexpensively, thus creating an overall economic boost in the area.

Another new venture of IbnSina this year was its support of the Afghan Women’s Knitting Center— a center offering skills training and income generation opportunities to semi-literate and non-literate Afghan women, in Ahmad Shah Baba Mina area of Kabul. The center provides regular paid employment to 14 non-literate and semi-literate women and has trained over 700 women.

Originally established by an American NGO, IbnSina assumed support of this center in June of 2005, when support of the other NGO ended. With minimal logistic and administrative guidance and assistance from IbnSina, this knitting center was able to support all its other expenses with its own earnings. The head of the center is an educated Afghan woman, who is also the trainer and
quality control person. The center produces items of woolen clothes for men, women and children, which are sold at the center itself. Items are also made to order for sale or for distribution as charity by various aid agencies.

80,454 children under one year were immunized against six childhood illnesses

30,073 beneficiaries received antenatal care, 9,018 deliveries were
assisted, and 10,024 women received postnatal care at IbnSina health facilities

11,021 beneficiaries used family planning interventions offered
at all IbnSina health facilities

31, 9206 Afghans received health education through formal sessions
at clinics, in one-to-one communication with clients and in the community

IbnSina Hospitals and clinics were supplied with appropriate
medicines and supplies

620,792 women and children benefited from IbnSina’s Mother
and Child Health services.