Date
09/2015 – 05/2019

Country
Afghanistan

Client
KfW / MoPH

Financing Institution
German Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Consortium Partner
Sweco (former Grontmij)

m4h Key Areas
Health Facilities

Project Description:

In cooperation with Grontmij (engineering) and RRP (architecture), management4health (m4h) is working on a project for the Planning and Management of the Construction of a new Mother and Child Health (MCH) Centre at the Balkh Regional Hospital in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan. The project is funded by the German Foreign Ministry through the KfW Development Bank. The overall objective of the project is to improve access to quality hospital referral care for mothers and children living in northern Afghanistan in order to help achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 aiming at reduced child and maternal mortality (even though we have passed the 2015 timeline, these goals are still relevant).

Scope of work:

Based on a feasibility study conducted by m4h in December 2013, a first design proposal for a 250 beds MCH Centre (100 beds for obstetric and 150 beds for paediatric services including intensive care units for neonates, children, and women) was developed by the Consortium’s interdisciplinary team of medical planers (clinicians = m4h), architects (rrp) and engineers (Grontmji), and, in September 2015,  this design was presented to and discussed with the clinical staff and management of the Balkh Regional Hospital. In close coordination with representatives from the Financing Institution (KfW) the team developed different design models and scenarios in order to achieve optimal use of spaces, functional areas, and the budget available to the project (15 million EURO). One of the challenges the project was confronted with was the fact that between the time of the feasibility study and the time of design development the EURO / USD exchange rate had changes significantly (more than 30% loss of value of the EURO vs the USD) and this certainly had to be taken into consideration when planning a project where many of the materials to be purchased are marketed in USD currency.

Finally a good solution was found and approved by all parties concerned. Grontmji, together with its Consortium partners rrp and m4h, is now proceeding with detailed design development, purchasing of construction works and equipment, supervision of construction works (expected to start by mid-August 2015) and of the equipment of the hospital (first quarter 2018). The opening of the hospital is planned for April 2018.

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