Health
12 died and 6,000 infected with cholera in Jowzjan: health officials
Twelve people have died and more than 6,000 people have been infected with cholera outbreak in Jowzjan province, health officials said Friday.
It is said that cholera has transmitted from the southern provinces to the northern provinces of the country.
At the same time, the number of people infected with cholera has increased in Balkh and Zabul provinces, and the number of infected people has reached 4,000 in Zabul province.
“The disease is spreading in north of the country, including Balkh, Samangan, Faryab and in Jowzjan provinces and specially in Sheberghan city, the center of Jowzjan, more than 1,000 patients are hospitalized, said Ghousuddin Anwari, head of the Abu Ali Sina-e-Balkhi District Hospital.
This outbreak mostly affects those who live in remote areas and have less access to health services.
In the north of the country, lack of access to safe drinking water is said to be one of the other factors of contracting this disease.
“We don’t have clean water; our area is a mountainous place which we keep water from snow in the winter season,” said Mohammad Ishaq, a resident of Samangan.
This disease was registered for the first time in Shahjoy district of Zabul province two months ago, now the number of infected people has reached 4,000 people.
After the COVID-19 virus, cholera disease is the second epidemic disease that has faced the people of Afghanistan with serious problems.
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.
Health
Majority of Afghans with mental disorders are women: officials
Based on last year’s data, 52 percent of people with mental disorders in Afghanistan are women, the Ministry of Public Health said.
However, after the Islamic Emirate took over the country and with the improvement of nationwide security and the provision of better health services, mental disorders have decreased, the ministry said.
“Overall, the mental security of men and women in Afghanistan is not ensured and their mental security is disturbed. According to the figures shared with us, in 2023, 52 percent of the visitors for mental disorders were women,” said Sharaft Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Health.
“Generally speaking, we can say that compared to the past, the instances of mental illnesses have decreased,” he added.
People suffering mental disorders mostly refuse to share their problem, willingly or unwillingly.
“There are many problems at home; We are poor. I finished school, but didn’t find any job,” Ansar, a mentally ill person, said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of Afghanistan’s population suffers from mental distress.
Factors such as unemployment, poverty, domestic violence, ban on girls’ and women’s education and work, and drugs are said to be key contributors to mental distress.
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