Ramping up international efforts

Conflict affected countries often become a “marginal issue”, but that is really where global health initiatives need to work, Bourdeaux said.

“They need to be designed to work in those places because that’s really where the burden of care needs to be addressed. They’re the folks with the greatest needs. Why have a global health movement if you can’t work in the places where you’re needed?” she explained.

According to Cordaid’s van Hal, health care in countries such as Afghanistan requires patience from the international community to keep on working.

“We can’t just leave because we’re tired and we spend so much money. We need to find a way to continue, and at the same time make sure that Afghanistan and other fragile states find money themselves for their public health,” he said.

“I would plead that even if Afghanistan is no longer in the spotlight … it still has problems we should still continue to support,” he added.