Global health action
Quantifying interprovincial health and poverty disparities in Afghanistan: a secondary analysis of national survey and administrative data
By Saeedzai SA, Ahmadyar K, Hazratzai MS and 1 others.
Abstract
Background
Afghanistan has made national gains in maternal and child health since 2001; however, national aggregate figures may mask important subnational disparities.
Objective
This study quantifies interprovincial disparities in health outcomes, service coverage, and multidimensional poverty across Afghanistan's 34 provinces to identify areas experiencing the greatest cumulative disadvantage.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional, province-level comparative analysis that integrated three nationally representative secondary data sources: the Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2022-2023, the 2017 NSIA/MoPH geographic access-to-care report, and the Afghanistan Multidimensional Poverty Index. Nine indicators spanning child health outcomes, service coverage, access to care, and socioeconomic deprivation were scored on a quartile scale (1 = worst, 4 = best).