The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) called an urgent meeting Sunday of senior health-care officials to address the outbreak of acute diarrhea in the Kafshan Valley of Ghurbund district in Parwan province.

This comes after concerns were raised last week by Parwan officials who confirmed that over 500 people had come down with a mystery illness.

Hekmatullah Shamim, the governor’s spokesman, said the affected people had all fallen ill over four-days.

The IEA’s Ministry of Health sent officials to the affected area and blood samples were taken from patients for analysis.

In a statement issued Sunday by the ministry, the deputy minister for health services Mawlawi Abdulwali Haqqani called the meeting, which was attended by central directors from the ministry, representatives from the infectious disease hospital and other experts.

Haqqani ordered specialized health teams to be deployed to the affected area and ordered a follow up meeting to be convened with World Health Organization representatives and other health partners.

The teams deployed to the area will focus on raising public awareness, assessing the health status of patients, and ensuring the provision of comprehensive medical facilities for both patients and local residents.

“These efforts are critical to facilitate urgent interventions necessary to mitigate the outbreak,” the statement read.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Afghanistan is grappling with significant health challenges marked by a fragile healthcare system and unequal access to services, particularly in rural areas.

In their latest report published last week, the Health Cluster Afghanistan Bulletin for August 2024, the WHO said there is a looming threat of disease outbreaks, including acute watery diarrhea (AWD), measles, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), dengue fever, COVID-19, pertussis (whooping cough), and malaria.

In August 2024, a total of 402,920 cases of acute diarrheal disease were reported, representing 14.6 percent of total consultations.

Out of the total acute diarrheal disease cases, 23,801 new AWD, with dehydration, cases were reported in August, resulting in 10 deaths.

So far this year, total of 125,471 AWD cases with dehydration and 60 associated deaths were reported, the WHO report stated.

Acting Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, says the issue of health should not be politicized given that Afghanistan has a vulnerable health-care sector and needs international aid.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the opening of a new children’s immunization center, Jalali said the death rate of children in Afghanistan is still high and international organizations should help health officials reduce this rate.

“I mostly say that health and politics should be separated. International partners who claim the rights of mothers and children [should be ensured] should cooperate a lot in the field of health,” said Jalali.

He added that 17 health centers will be built in districts across the country this solar year.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Health Services Abdul Wali Haqqani also spoke at the event and said about two million children have not yet been vaccinated.

According to him, 900,000 children will receive vaccines over the next 18 months.

A representative of UNICEF also stressed the need for the complete eradication of polio in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is one of the countries where polio cases still exist. Therefore, this program is an opportunity to reach out to children who have missed vaccination [campaigns], and we strive to protect these children and expand this program to the highest level in the future,” said the UNICEF representative.

According to official data, between four and five million children benefit from the polio program every year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed 18 new cases of polio infection in the country so far this year, a significant increase from the six cases reported in 2023.

Local healthcare workers say these numbers could be higher as many cases will not yet have been detected.

Hekmatullah Shamim, the spokesman of the governor of Parwan, says that more than 500 people in the province have fallen ill with an  unknown infectious disease.

According to Shamim, in the last four days, more than 500 residents of Dara Kashfan area in Shinwar district of Parwan have been infected with the disease and the number is rising.

According to local officials, two people have died due to this disease and 50 others are in a critical condition.

Shamim added that health teams have reached the area worst affected and blood samples of infected people have been taken. 

The governor's spokesman in Parwan quoted the public health directorate as saying symptoms of the disease are "physical disability, severe muscle pain, severe diarrhoea and severe fever".

No further details were provided.