Communicable Diseases Know No Borders: Report on a Landmark Regional Health Conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Its Impact on Regional Cooperation

In 2005, the Minister of Health, Dr. Sayeed Fatimie, requested assistance from The Rural Expansion of Afghanistan's Community-based Health Care Project (REACH) funded by USAID and implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH) to design and implement a regional health conference for all countries that are neighbors to Afghanistan. The theme “Health for All, Health by All:Communicable Diseases Recognize No Borders” was chosen and the date set for April 17-20,2006. The Deputy Minister for Planning and Prevention led the planning process. Technical preparatory committees were established and a lead facilitator invited from partner agencies, such as WHO, CDC, ICDDRD, and USAID, for the six diseases that were chosen—Avian Influenza, Cholera, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Polio. Invitations were extended to 14 countries in the region. Seven accepted and USAID funded government representatives from Turkey, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, while WHO funded the participation of Iran.

The meeting was inaugurated by President Hamid Karzai who stressed the theme of "regional brotherhood" and the need to work together to control disease and poverty. During the first 2 days, keynote addresses in key thematic areas, such as infectious disease control, surveillance, and scaling up were followed by small work group meetings in each of the six disease areas whereby the technical representatives worked out a region-wide plan of action. On the third day, the ministerial representatives met as a group and adopted the Kabul Declaration to establish principles of regional cooperation. These included commitments to: mobilize political will, harmonize health messages, implement quality surveillance with the open exchange of information,identify high risk and mobile populations, standardize disease management guidelines, and use evidence-based approaches to inter-country disease control activities. Regional cooperation to control communicable diseases that know no borders can improve regional conflict and open dialogue amongst governements.

Two years after the Kabul Declaration, significant progress has been made in cross border activities in avian influenza, malaria and polio control that will be highlighted. A well designed regional conference can stimulate countries to work together for better disease control and help reduce conflict.