Afghanistan’s healthcare system on the brink of collapse, says Emergency

KABUL: The Emergency NGO said that four years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s healthcare system is facing a serious crisis, exacerbated by budget cuts, a shortage of personnel, and global indifference. In a recent report, the organization emphasized that the lack of international recognition of the Taliban and the cessation of aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) leaves little hope for improvement in the near future. Emergency noted that while formal warfare in Afghanistan has ended, its consequences continue. Factors such as scattered weapons, leftover landmines in remote areas, poverty, armed crime, theft, and domestic violence are filling the organization’s treatment centers with victims. The report states that approximately 50% of patients in the emergency department of organization’s hospital in Kabul are war victims, arriving with injuries from gunfire, explosions, landmines, and armed violence. In Lashkar Gah, about 80% of patients are treated for traffic accidents and non-war-related injuries, while in Panjshir, poverty and food insecurity have led to 20% of hospitalized children suffering from malnutrition. Furthermore, the report highlights that in current year, 75% of landmine victims have been children who encountered mines while playing. Many impoverished families report being unable to afford treatment for their patients. A resident of Herat told Emergency that his 12-year-old son was injured by a landmine explosion last year, but family could not afford medication or complete treatment due to poverty. According to Emergency’s June report, over 70% of Afghan citizens lack access to free or permanent healthcare, three out of five cannot afford treatment, and one in four has postponed or canceled surgery due to financial difficulties. Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health has not yet responded to Emergency’s latest report.