WHO warns again about Afghanistan

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its concern about Afghanistan's health system, saying it would collapse if no immediate action was taken.

Afghanistan's health care budget has been slashed since the Taliban came to power. The health program, which is the backbone of Afghanistan's health system, providing health services and monitoring to millions of Afghans, has been stalled for months.

"Today, the health of the people is seriously threatened," said a representative of the World Health Organization. All advances in health outcomes may be reversed. He also called on international organizations to find an alternative funding mechanism for primary health care.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health has announced that it is seeking more international assistance in this regard.

"If the aid provided in the health sector is not distributed in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, the crisis in this area may intensify and people will face many problems," said Javid Hajir, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

The UN report comes as September last year also expressed dissatisfaction with the state of Afghanistan's healthcare system.

In a September report, the World Health Organization said nine of the 37 of Covid-19 hospitals had been closed, and that "all aspects" of the country's response to Covid-19 had been reduced, from monitoring to testing and vaccination.

Due to the fact that health centers are less active and fewer female health workers return to work, female patients have difficulty seeking care.

Data from the World Health Organization show that before the Taliban took control on August 15, 2.2 million people had been vaccinated against the new coronavirus in Afghanistan.

The WHO Special Representative also noted that vaccination rates have dropped rapidly in recent weeks, while 1.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine remain unused in the country.

_{Source and Credit: Tolo News, UN, WHO}