About the Author: Anne C. Richard serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration.

In the past five years in Afghanistan, there have been impressive gains in key health indicators, and a dramatic decrease in infant and child mortality rates due to the efforts of the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, with the support of the United States and the international community. Now many more Afghan women survive pregnancy and childbirth. These dramatic improvements serve as a good reminder to the international community that with sound investments to tackle Afghanistan’s still-daunting humanitarian and development needs, progress has been and will continue to be achieved.

Today, I had the honor of joining with the Afghan Minister of Public Health, Dr. Suraya Dalil, who has a very impressive resume, working most recently at UNICEF, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that serves as another step forward for Afghanistan. In the Memorandum, our countries have… more »