Resource Type: Brief
Authors: Jenna Wright
Published: May 2015

Resource Description:

An Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS) can be defined as the package of services that the government is providing or is aspiring to provide to its citizens in an equitable manner.

This country snapshot is one in a series of 24 snapshots looking at the governance dimensions of Essential Packages of Health Services in the Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Death priority countries. The snapshot explores several important dimensions of the EPHS in the country, such as how government policies contribute to the service coverage, population coverage, and financial coverage of the package.

Afghanistan has a clearly defined EPHS, which includes a Basic Package of Health Services and an Essential Package of Hospital Services. The Ministry of Public Health first ratified the BPHS in March 2003, and revised it in 2005 and again in 2010. The purpose of the BPHS is to ensure that all primary health care facilities deliver a standardized package of basic services.