WHO report reveals health emergency situation in Afghanistan

KABUL : The healthcare situation in Afghanistan is as deteriorated as any other sector after the Taliban seized power in August last year. The people of the country now, are dependent on humanitarian aid for healthcare as well.

Revealing the contributions made to the crisis-hit country in the healthcare sector, the WHO in its 26th Health Emergency Status Report for Afghanistan on Thursday said that the WHO established new primary healthcare facilities in remote areas of the country for the most needful people. Over 2,20,000 people received services through that, TOLOnews reported.

In February 2023, WHO and its aid cluster partners will have made a major contribution to helping the Afghan people in the vital healthcare fields, the report stated.

"With the target for 2023 of 15.6 million people, WHO, with its partners, has continued to build up the effort to ensure access to essential healthcare services throughout the country, including remote and hard-to-reach areas", the report read.

Citing the report, Khaama Press reported further that, "By the end of February, WHO established 185 primary healthcare facilities in underserved/white areas across 26 provinces, in which over 220,000 people received services. In addition, WHO distributed more than 2800 cubic meters (CBM) of medical and non-medical supplies to the partners in response to ongoing health emergencies."

Almost 828,000 new cases of acute respiratory infections (ARI) were recorded in February's report. 45.1pc of the 4,353,661 ARI cases that have been documented since October 2022, or 13.3pc of Afghanistan's total population, have affected children under the age of five. In addition, since 2022, ARI instances have grown in comparison to the three-year norm, Khaama Press reported.

According to the WHO report, mild to moderate psychological problems like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder affect 17per cent of adults.

The economic stability in Afghanistan is extensively dependent on humanitarian aid flows as the country continues to remain in deep crisis.

Afghanistan is currently grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world.

Moreover, the situation of human rights in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.