A high-level delegation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) met senior members of the Taliban leadership, UN partners, healthcare workers and patients in Kabul.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the WHO said, “Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse. Unless urgent action is taken, the country faces an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. Our visit allowed us to witness the immediate needs of the Afghan people firsthand and meet with stakeholders to define ways to urgently scale up our health response.”
Further, the WHO said, “Acting on the UN principles of neutrality and independence, we engaged in constructive dialogue to address differences and find solutions that will allow us to continue our life-saving work for millions of innocent Afghans affected by decades of conflict. Throughout our visit, we focused on a number of priority health issues that need immediate attention, as well as the need to invest in achieving longer-term development goals.”
Effects On Medical Supplies
The Who noted that cuts in the donor support to Afghanistan’s largest health project, Sehetmandi, has left thousands of health facilities without funding for medical supplies and salaries for health staff.
It was reported that many of these facilities have reduced operations or shut down entirely, forcing health providers to make hard decisions on who to save and who to let die.
“Only 17 percent of all Sehatmandi health facilities are fully functional. This breakdown in health services is having a rippling effect on the availability of basic and essential health care, as well as on emergency response, polio eradication, and Covid-19 vaccination efforts,” it stated.
The WHO said in its statement that 9 of 37 Covid-19 hospitals had closed down and all aspects of the Covid-19 response had been dropped, including surveillance, testing, and vaccination.
“Prior to August this year, 2.2 million people had been vaccinated against Covid-19. In recent weeks, vaccination rates have decreased rapidly while 1.8 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in country remain unused. Swift action is needed to use these doses in the coming weeks and work towards reaching the goal of vaccinating at least 20pc of the population by the end of the year based on national targets,” it stated.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the WHO said, “Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse. Unless urgent action is taken, the country faces an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. Our visit allowed us to witness the immediate needs of the Afghan people firsthand and meet with stakeholders to define ways to urgently scale up our health response.”
Further, the WHO said, “Acting on the UN principles of neutrality and independence, we engaged in constructive dialogue to address differences and find solutions that will allow us to continue our life-saving work for millions of innocent Afghans affected by decades of conflict. Throughout our visit, we focused on a number of priority health issues that need immediate attention, as well as the need to invest in achieving longer-term development goals.”
The WHO said in its statement that 9 of 37 Covid-19 hospitals had closed down and all aspects of the Covid-19 response had been dropped, including surveillance, testing, and vaccination
Effects On Medical Supplies
The Who noted that cuts in the donor support to Afghanistan’s largest health project, Sehetmandi, has left thousands of health facilities without funding for medical supplies and salaries for health staff.
It was reported that many of these facilities have reduced operations or shut down entirely, forcing health providers to make hard decisions on who to save and who to let die.
“Only 17 percent of all Sehatmandi health facilities are fully functional. This breakdown in health services is having a rippling effect on the availability of basic and essential health care, as well as on emergency response, polio eradication, and Covid-19 vaccination efforts,” it stated.
The WHO said in its statement that 9 of 37 Covid-19 hospitals had closed down and all aspects of the Covid-19 response had been dropped, including surveillance, testing, and vaccination.
“Prior to August this year, 2.2 million people had been vaccinated against Covid-19. In recent weeks, vaccination rates have decreased rapidly while 1.8 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in country remain unused. Swift action is needed to use these doses in the coming weeks and work towards reaching the goal of vaccinating at least 20pc of the population by the end of the year based on national targets,” it stated.