Health
COVID-19 kills 40 people in Afghanistan in one week
Forty people have died from COVID-19 in Afghanistan in the past week, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Public Health, however, said that the peak of the current wave of COVID-19 has passed in Afghanistan and that infections and deaths are declining.
According the ministry’s data, 59 people died due to coronavirus in the second week of February.
Javed Hazhir, a spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said that 500 people recovered in the first week of February, 2,600 in the second week, 2,400 in the third week and 3,773 in the last week of the month.
He said that Afghanistan does not have the equipment to detect the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
According to the official, the World Health Organization had pledged to deliver the equipment to detect the Omicron variant in late January, however, it has not fulfilled its promise.
“We shared with them the problems and the consequences. They make so many promises in the media, but in practice, unfortunately, there has been no major assistance to address the problems,” Hazhir said.
Meanwhile, medical staff at Afghan-Japan hospital, one of the main hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, said that the number of patients has declined in the last couple of weeks.
According to them, most of the patients have Omicron variant symptoms.
Ebadullah Ebadi, a doctor at the hospital, also warned that they will face serious problems if international donors stop funding the facility.
Health
Nationwide polio vaccination campaign kicks off across Afghanistan
Afghanistan launched a polio vaccination campaign on Monday aimed at protecting around 10.72 million children under the age of 5, the Health Ministry announced.
The four-day campaign will cover 31 of the country’s 34 provinces.
Vaccinations in Ghor, Daikundi and Bamiyan provinces will be implemented later due to recent rains and cold weather, the ministry said in a statement.
“Together with our partners, we are committed to eradicating polio from Afghanistan,” said Dr Qalandar Ebad, the acting minister of public health.
“We will work tirelessly and continue polio vaccination campaigns and complementary health services until we reach the goal of fully eradicating polio.”
The ministry urged religious scholars and local elders to cooperate with vaccine providers to fight polio, a debilitating disease that can lead to paralysis and death.
In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the repatriation of migrants from neighboring Pakistan has increased the risk of spreading the virus. Since then, Afghanistan has conducted at least three rounds of nationwide vaccinations.
Vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan often face challenges due to conspiracy theories that polio vaccines cause infertility or that vaccinators are spies.
Health
Azerbaijan urged to help improve capacity of Afghan health workers
Acting Minister of Public Health Qalandar Ebad, in a meeting with Azerbaijan’s ambassador, Ilham Mohammadov, called for the country’s assistance in improving the capacity of Afghanistan’s health workers.
The two sides also discussed cooperation in the health sector, capacity building of Afghan health workers, and Azerbaijan’s role in the health sector and other issues, according to a statement released by the Public Health Ministry.
Azerbaijan’s envoy said that his country seeks to cooperate with Afghanistan in a sustainable manner in the field of health.
In other news, the foundation stone for the construction of oxygen production facility was laid at the Indira Gandhi children hospital in Kabul.
Officials of the Ministry of Public Health said that the facility will be built with the financial and technical assistance of the World Health Organization, and with the capacity to produce 200 cylinders of oxygen daily to meet not only the needs of the hospital, but also other health facilities.
Health
Balkh health officials report sharp increase in number of cancer patients
Balkh Public Health Department officials say there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with cancer in the province.
“In 1401, about 2,613 OPD (out patient department) cases were registered with us. In 1402, these figures were 4,912 cases,” said Ehsanullah Kaliwal, the head of the oncology department at Balkh Regional Hospital.
Some doctors say genetic factors, environmental pollution, arbitrary use of medicines, and excessive consumption of meat were reasons for the sharp increase.
One doctor said cancer was also hereditry.
However, a large percentage of cancer patients in Balkh have stomach cancer. Many of them have appealed for the government to improve treatment facilities.
According to health officials, in the first month of this solar year (April), 423 cancer patients visited this hospital for treatment.
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