'Health sector plunges into crisis in Afghanistan'
Nov 15, 2021
Kabul [Afghanistan], November 15 : The health sector in Afghanistan has been struggling with a severe crisis as aid provided by the international community has been suspended, local media reported citing officials from the Public Health Ministry on Monday.
The deputy minister of health services provision, Abdul Bari Omar, blamed the former government for relying on the international community to provide for health sector facilities, Tolo News reported.
"A government received millions of dollars of aid, and provided support for the health industry, but still there is no fundamental work in the health sector. The development of the health sector is around 5.5 per cent," Omar said.
According to Omar, the salaries of health workers have also not been paid for a long time due to a reduction in assistance to the Afghan health sector. Some of the health centres have stopped their operations.
According to the publication, the citizens has also expressed frustration over the reduction in medical supplies across the country.
"We request that the hospitals be supported as before so the hospitals can provide proper services to our people" Tolo News quoted Noorullah, a patient as saying.
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has deteriorated ever since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August.
Earlier the UN agencies warned that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is worsening, and funding for emergency aid is urgently needed to help 20 million people there.
Afghanistan has suffered decades of conflict and displacement, as well as chronic poverty, severe drought, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly half the population, more than 18 million people, require aid assistance to survive, while conflict and insecurity have displaced more than 3.5 million, with nearly 700,000 uprooted this year alone, according to the UN.
