Fatima Bayat Hospital, built in 2011 by the Bayat Foundation and located in the south of Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, has expanded its hours. The facility, which has seen a 200 percent increase in monthly maternity visits, now will provide 24-hour care, seven days a week, for mothers and children.
Women in the area have been happy with the services they receive from the hospital, which offers free medicine and free check-ups. Fatima Bayat is one of several hospitals the Bayat Foundation has built in partnership with donors and other nongovernmental organizations, with the goal of reducing infant and child mortality rates in Afghanistan. One in four Afghan children is expected to die before reaching his or her fifth birthday, which represents one of the worst early life mortality rates in the world. Almost six in 10 early childhood deaths in Afghanistan could be prevented, but access to good health care is lacking, particularly in remote areas of the country.