MSF began working in Afghanistan in 1980, but left the country in 2004 when five staff members were killed in Badghis province, in the west of the country. In 2009, MSF resumed operations in Afghanistan due to serious concerns about people’s deteriorating access to quality healthcare as a result of the conflict.

Southern Helmand province was one of the areas most affected at that time and Boost hospital in Lashkar Gah, was the second project launched by MSF (after Ahmad Shah Baba in Kabul). Our aim at Boost hospital was to reinstate the 150-bed hospital as a fully functioning referral hospital, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing people with free, quality, lifesaving medical care.

Today, Boost hospital serves approximately one million people. It is the only referral hospital in the province and one of the only two referral hospitals run by the Ministry of Public Health in Southern Afghanistan.

This timeline highlights the work done by MSF teams in Boost hospital, alongside the Ministry of Public Health, over the past 10 years.