CNN: Reduction in U.S. aid pushing Afghanistan’s health system to the brink of collapse

KABUL: CNN has reported that the reduction of U.S. humanitarian assistance, particularly in the health sector, has put the lives of thousands of Afghan women and children at risk and is leading to the collapse of the country’s health system. Journalists from the network, who visited Nangarhar Provincial Hospital, witnessed the death of a one-year-old child. The report indicates that due to shortages of medicine, doctors, and food, child mortality rates in this hospital have increased. Doctors noted that since the cessation of U.S. aid, child mortality rates have risen by 3 to 4 percent. Previously, the U.S. covered the costs of health services and doctors’ salaries, but now patients are required to purchase their own medicines, a burden many families cannot afford. The report also states that the halt of $1.7 billion in U.S. aid has suspended health, education, agricultural, mine-clearing programs, and support for women. While some members of the U.S. Republican Party advocate for a complete cessation of aid, claiming it benefits the Taliban, oversight organizations emphasize that the Taliban have had minimal involvement, and the cutting of aid has resulted in significant