As the world looks on at Afghanistan with trepidation, the World Health Organization (WHO) is battling its own concerns—the crumbling state of healthcare in the country. With covid-19 resurging again, WHO faces the additional hurdle of escalating conflict in Afghanistan.
WHO's regional emergencies director, Rick Brennan, in his briefing to the UN in Geneva said that medical facilities in the country have come under attack and some staff members have fled due to increasing violence.
Reuters quoted Brennan as saying that at least 18.4 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 3.1 million children at risk of acute malnutrition.
Brennan added that Taliban fighters have indicated they want continued support for health services as they continue to take over parts of Afghanistan. "The Taliban are asking through indirect means, informally, for support for the continuity of health services in the areas that they are taking … So I hope that there will be some stability," he added.
Fighting flared up in the country after the US announced it would pull out American and NATO troops after signing a peace deal with the Taliban in February 2020 in Doha. Since last year the Taliban has steadily made inroads into territories managed by the government. Now it claims to control 85 per cent of Afghanistan, which the Afghan government said is untrue.
Health facilities have often faced the brunt of attacks in the conflict. Last year, in one of the most gruesome assaults, militants had attacked the maternity award of a hospital in Kabul, killing 24 people including mothers, children and pregnant women.
Health conditions, even without the conflict, have been underwhelming in the country. Afghanistan along with neighbouring Pakistan are the only two countries in the world left with the polio virus. Often religious attitudes come in the way of better health. Polio workers have come under attack from militants and sometimes the common people.
The rapid spread of coronavirus since late 2019 has brought the global healthcare system and governance to its knees. By UN estimates nearly 119-124 million people have been pushed back into poverty while 255 million full-time jobs have been lost.
For Afghanistan this is a double tragedy – conflict in the time of covid.
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