The availability of health care services does not guarantee that they will be optimally used by patients. Untimely use of health services and inadequate health-seeking behaviour contribute to negative health outcomes for men and women. In part due to social norms, health-seeking patterns are often different for men and women. Awareness of gender-influenced health-seeking patterns is a key component of gender-responsive health service delivery and essential to enhance timely and appropriate use of health services by both women and men. This policy brief describes some key outcomes of a gender assessment of men's and women's use of basic health services in seven provinces. It triangulates them with global research to identify key priorities and policy options for decreasing gender-related access barriers to health care services in Afghanistan