The Kandahar branch of the Afghan Red Crescent Society says more than 3,000 mental health patients, including men and women, have received treatment at home across southern Afghanistan over the past five years.

Officials said 405 patients were also treated at the Afghan Red Crescent’s mental health treatment center in Kandahar and returned to their homes. The center is the only facility in southern Afghanistan providing treatment to mental health patients from the region.

According to officials, during the past five years, 1,936 male and 1,331 female mental health patients received treatment at their homes.

Currently, 158 patients, including men and women who pose a risk to themselves or others, are being kept and treated at the center, while treatment for another 804 patients is continuing at their homes.

Doctors said patients considered a serious danger to society are kept at the center on a permanent basis and receive regular treatment.

Meanwhile, some patients who were previously brought to the center in poor condition are now recovering and have expressed satisfaction with the services they have received.

The development comes as officials from the Red Crescent’s southern regional branch say mental health problems linked to poverty and family difficulties are increasing.

Despite the challenges, they said efforts are underway to expand mental health services so that more patients can receive treatment.

Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has travelled to Belarus at the head of a delegation to strengthen health cooperation and exchange medical expertise between the two countries.

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, the visit will focus on expanding bilateral cooperation, reviewing Belarus’s healthcare institutions and sharing experience in medical services and specialized healthcare.

Belarusian Deputy Health Minister Barys Andrasyuk welcomed Jalali and his delegation, describing the visit as an important step toward strengthening health cooperation between Afghanistan and Belarus.

During the visit, Jalali is expected to meet with senior officials at Belarus’s Ministry of Health and visit several medical and research institutions, including the Belarusian State Medical University, a state pharmaceutical production company, specialized cardiac and oncology centers, the Republican Centre for Hygiene and Epidemiology, and an emergency clinical hospital.

The two sides are also expected to discuss cooperation in medical education, healthcare services, pharmaceutical production and specialized treatment, as well as opportunities to expand technical exchanges.

The visit comes as Afghanistan seeks to expand international cooperation in the health sector and improve access to medical expertise, training and pharmaceutical resources.