After 2001 and the significant attention of the international community on Afghanistan millions of Afghans still remain unable to access basic health services or provide enough income and food through their livelihoods to support their families. Afghanistan suffers from exceptionally high levels of infant and maternal mortality with 13% of children dying during childbirth, and 19% of children under 5 dying and maternal mortality is amongst the worst in the world with 1,600 women in every 100,000 dying during childbirth. The overall life expectancy is around 43 years. There are a range of causes of these high fatality rates, but amongst the most important are the lack of skills and knowledge amongst the local population about basic hygiene, child and maternal health care, as well as the poor coverage of health services across the country.
Furthermore access to stable and sustainable livelihoods in Afghanistan is often beyond the reach of local people. Average earnings are amongst the lowest in the world at $964 per person with 11 provinces several affected by food insecurity and food prices have increased significantly since 2008 as a result of global food and fuel price hikes. In short and medium term there remains a dire humanitarian and developmental need to improve access to health and improving livelihoods in a sustainable manner in Afghanistan.
The Organization of Progress and Sustainability (OPS) was started in December 2010 by the senior staff who have worked in several development and UN organizations whose worked was curtailed by insecurity. The management team wants to fulfill their humanitarian and development aspirations for Afghanistan and through working with the local communities they used to work in and the skills and experience amongst the team they believe they can make a positive and sustained difference to the lives of thousands of Afghans.
The staff, who have worked for national and international NGOs and UN agencies on a range of development and humanitarian programmes, wish to expand the opportunities and support that can be achieved through development to Afghan communities, in particular in Southern Afghanistan. The staff have worked on projects funded by a range of international donors including bi-lateral and multi-lateral organizations such as USAID, IOM, WFP and UNDP as well as private sector development agencies such as Chemonics as well as other NGOs such as OXFAM GB, Save the Children UK, and Internews.
They are committed to improving the lives of Afghans through providing support to health services, such as training of midwives, to increase the access Afghans have to basic health services as well as working with communities over the long-term to address the sustainability and suitability of their livelihoods to ensure that they are able to provide food and shelter for their families. Along with implementing projects directly OPS supports communities through building their capacity in new agricultural techniques, disaster risk reduction and skills training.
In particular OPS stresses the importance of sustainable activities and projects so that communities can incorporate and use the inputs from development projects, whether they are technical, physical or financial. Through gradual progress and building linkages within and between project activities and the existing capabilities of the communities OPS strives to improve the livelihoods of the communities and improve their lives.