Dr. S.M Amin Fatimie Minister of Public Health attended a ceremony on the occasion of 4th graduation of Nursing and Midwifery programs of Ghazanfar Medical Sciences Institute. This morning 53 nurses and 98 midwives received their graduation diplomas as Registered nurses and registered midwives. Development of these newly graduated nurses and midwives will improve health status of mothers and babies. At the end of the ceremony two excellent graduates were awarded by the Ministry of Public Health. Nursing school of Agha Khan and Agha Khan University have provided their generous support in the realization of this progress towards improvement of health system in Afghanistan.

Save lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies is the slogan of this years World Health Day (WHD). This day is celebrated globally on 7 April each year to commemorate the founding of the World Health Organization and to raise awareness on key global health issues. This year the theme is Health facilities in emergencies, which underscores the importance of investing in health infrastructure that is able to withstand natural hazards, conflicts or a deteriorating situation and that is able to serve and protect people in immediate need.

Dr. S.M. Amin Fatimie, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan officially launched a three day Sub-National Immunization Days (NIDs) campaign. This round of SNIDs campaign will start on 12 April and continues for 3 days. MoPH with the technical and financial support from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) and donor communities conducts this supplementary immunization to provide immunity against polio to almost 3 million under 5 years age children and to stop circulation of wild polio virus inside Afghanistan and importation of virus from neighboring countries. By achieving and sustaining these two targets, Afghanistan will soon obtain the status of a polio free country.

Dr. Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimie, Minister of Public Health opened the first ever ART center in Ibn-Sina Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kabul. Adequate amount of ARV drugs provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Kabul around one month ago. As per the plan it was agreed that the ART center should be based in the Ibn-Sina Infectious Diseases hospital in Kabul and 6 other same centers will be inaugurated soon in the regional and provincial hospitals of big provinces all over the country.

25 April is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world. The slogan for the World Malaria day in 2009 is Day to Act. This year's World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time. The international malaria community has merely two years to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria.