Health

Afghans with TB ‘struggling’ to get accessible treatment: MSF

Published

3 years ago

December 11, 2022

Afghanistan’s broken economy and dysfunctional health care system has left thousands of patients in a vulnerable situation across the country, especially people with tuberculosis (TB).

According to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) there is a critical shortage of advanced medical treatment available for TB patients, coupled with a widespread lack of knowledge about the disease.

One such example is Jawahira who was referred to MSF’s tuberculosis (TB) hospital in Kandahar earlier this year from a clinic in Daikundi, in central Afghanistan. “I used to visit private clinics, but instead of giving me TB medication, they usually just prescribed painkillers,” she said.

MSF’s 24-bed TB hospital in Kandahar is the only medical facility providing advanced TB care in southern Afghanistan. Many of the patients come from the nearby provinces of Helmand, Uruzgan, Nimroz and Zabul, but others travel from more than 500 kms away, from Farah, Daikundi, Badghis, Ghazni, and Paktika provinces.

“Our catchment area is so big, it is impossible to know exactly how many people are in it,” said MSF medical advisor Allieu Tommy. “Many travel from afar, and we support them by paying for transport costs, housing expenses, and food to alleviate some of the economic burden.” Without such incentives, most patients could not afford to come for treatment.

The cost of searching for treatment also took its toll on Jawahira. “My home is far away in Uruzgan, so when we went to see a doctor, I had to spend 6,000 Afghani ($67) for the car fare and then 13,000 ($146) for the drugs they gave me.”

The amount Jawahira spent on each visit to the doctor is about one-third of the average monthly income in Afghanistan. According to the World Bank, an estimated 60 percent of the country’s population is unemployed and has no income at all, exacerbated by sanctions and other financial measures against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

People often struggle to afford even basic food items, let alone travel expenses and medical fees for hospital visits. Meanwhile, the public health care system is under-resourced, under-staffed, and under-funded, MSF said.

The father of another patient at the Kandahar hospital, Hamdullah, said: “Our daughter Bibi is nine years old and has been sick since childhood, but we did not know of her illness — we had never heard the name TB before.”

MSF teams carry out regular health promotion activities in local communities in Kandahar to spread awareness about TB. They also provide information to patients and caretakers at the hospital in Kandahar.

“When a person arrives for the first time and learns that they have TB, we talk to them about what it is, how it’s transmitted, how to be careful around family members, and how long the treatment will take,” explained MSF nurse Taiba Azizi.

Providing this information is simple but effective. “Now I understand the symptoms and people back home know it is a dangerous disease,” said Hamdullah. “If somebody had seen her [Bibi] earlier, they would have said she would not recover. But now, we know she can get past this. She has already started to eat and walk. We hope she is getting better.”

MSF also tests a patient’s family for TB, as the disease is highly transmissible, particularly when people live close together.

MSF stated that some patients have a form of the disease that is resistant to conventional TB drugs and requires treatment that lasts nine to 12 months. This can be especially difficult to cope with during a hospital stay, far from friends and relatives. As a result, many patients stop their treatment early.

But next year, a six-month short course regimen will be rolled out that should make it easier for people to finish their treatment.

MSF has already set up a diagnose and treatment program that combines specialist inpatient care with supervised home-based treatment to help patients better cope with the regimens.

“What we offer is a system whereby a person spends the first 30 days in our facility under careful observation and, if they do not experience major adverse side effects from the drugs taken, they are discharged for homecare,” said Azizi.

“Our staff then do weekly follow-ups over the phone, so patients only need to come back to the hospital once a month to renew their medications and have an in-person consultation.”

Women and children are most vulnerable to TB

Over 70 percent of patients in MSF’s Kandahar TB hospital are women and children. “Women and children stay at home in dusty, poorly ventilated rooms for longer periods of time than men,” said Tommy.

“If a woman gets infected, the children are likely to catch the disease as well. Other cultural factors play a role too. Women whisper or speak in very low tones to one another, especially if men are in the room. Respiratory tract infections are then easily transmissible due to their proximity.”

An additional challenge for female patients is that they are generally required to be accompanied by a male family member to the hospital, and this coupled with the economic barriers can significantly reduce their access to health care.

It is estimated that TB and its resistant forms kill more than 13,000 people in Afghanistan every year.

Access to proper care remains a major challenge for patients in the southern part of the country, mainly due to insufficient medical infrastructure, length of treatment, and financial obstacles. While MSF’s TB hospital in Kandahar provides free quality treatment for many, the people of Afghanistan need a more robust and sustainable health care system to meet their many urgent needs, MSF stated.

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Afghan Health Minister hails India visit as new chapter in bilateral ties

Published

2 days ago

December 23, 2025

Ariana News

Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has described his recent visit to India as an important new chapter in strengthening health cooperation between Kabul and New Delhi.

Speaking at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Jalali said the trip focused on expanding bilateral health collaboration and addressing key challenges facing Afghanistan’s healthcare system. He outlined the main objectives of the visit as preventing potential medicine shortages, standardizing traditional medicine, importing high-quality and affordable medicines, building the capacity of health workers through training programs, facilitating medical treatment for Afghan patients in India, and developing professional expertise in traditional medicine.

Jalali said India and relevant institutions made several concrete commitments during the visit. These include the provision of vaccines worth $5 million, a radiotherapy machine for cancer treatment valued at $3 million, five tons of cancer medicines worth $1 million, a CT scan machine valued at $300,000, and support for the construction of a hospital and a specialized thalassemia treatment center valued at $500,000.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Public Health, the visit also resulted in agreements on capacity-building programs for specialists and healthcare workers, the donation of 70,000 medical ampoules by an Afghan investor, plans to establish a research center and an institute of traditional medicine in Kabul, the transfer of high-quality medicines to Afghanistan, meeting market needs, and increased investment in the health sector.

The ministry said these outcomes represent significant progress in enhancing healthcare services and long-term cooperation between Afghanistan and India.

Health

Afghan health minister hails India’s support, calls medical visas vital for patients

Jalali said India is planning to build a 30-bed hospital in Kabul’s Bagrami district, which is expected to include an oncology center, a trauma unit, and maternal and child healthcare clinics.

Published

3 days ago

December 22, 2025

Ariana News

Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has praised India’s long-standing support for Afghanistan’s healthcare sector, describing Indian medical visas as a “vital humanitarian channel” for Afghan patients.

In an interview with an Indian television network, during his official visit to New Delhi, Jalali said Afghans have long relied on India for medical treatment, noting that the facilitation of medical visas has enabled thousands of patients to access advanced healthcare services in recent years.

He welcomed India’s contributions to Afghanistan’s health infrastructure, highlighting the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Kabul as one of the country’s most important pediatric hospitals.

India has supported the facility through the establishment of a thalassemia center, a modern diagnostic unit, upgrades to heating systems, and plans to provide a CT scan machine.

Jalali said India is also planning to build a 30-bed hospital in Kabul’s Bagrami district, which is expected to include an oncology center, a trauma unit, and maternal and child healthcare clinics.

He added that India has fitted around 75 Afghan patients with prosthetic limbs under the Jaipur Foot program and donated 20 ambulances.

During talks with India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Jalali called for expanded cooperation in medical equipment, pharmaceutical regulation, training of healthcare workers, and the supply of essential medicines, particularly cancer drugs. He said India has pledged to provide these medicines on an urgent basis.

The Afghan health minister stressed the importance of capacity building, including training Afghan doctors in India and deploying Indian medical teams to Afghanistan.

He also said agreements have been reached to cooperate in traditional medicine, including Ayurveda and Unani practices, with plans to establish a Traditional Medicine Institute and Research Center in Afghanistan.

Jalali noted that Afghanistan has diversified its pharmaceutical import routes to ensure a steady supply of medicines and address concerns over counterfeit and substandard drugs through stronger regulation.

He described Afghanistan–India relations as people-centric and rooted in humanitarian values, expressing hope that cooperation in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and medical infrastructure will continue to deepen.

Health

Afghan health officials visit Indian medical institute to expand ties

India has historically been a key partner in Afghanistan’s health and education sectors, providing training, medical support and institutional cooperation.

Published

4 days ago

December 21, 2025

Ariana News

During an official visit to India, a technical delegation from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health visited the Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR) in New Delhi, as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation in the health sector, particularly in the field of traditional medicine.

Officials and senior professors at HIMSR welcomed the Afghan team and provided detailed briefings on the institution’s academic programmes, research activities and medical services.

Discussions focused on opportunities for closer collaboration in traditional and integrative medicine, an area where Hamdard has long-standing expertise and international recognition.

HIMSR’s leadership expressed readiness to work with Afghan health authorities on joint research initiatives, quality testing and standardisation of traditional medicines through Hamdard’s laboratories, as well as knowledge-sharing programmes. The institution also pledged to offer scholarships and specialised training opportunities for Afghan doctors and medical professionals.

The visit comes as Afghanistan seeks to rebuild and strengthen its public health system amid ongoing economic and humanitarian challenges, with an emphasis on cost-effective and culturally accepted healthcare approaches such as traditional medicine.

India has historically been a key partner in Afghanistan’s health and education sectors, providing training, medical support and institutional cooperation.

Both sides said enhanced collaboration would contribute to improving public health outcomes, standardising traditional medicine practices, and expanding scientific and medical institutions in Afghanistan.

They reaffirmed their commitment to developing the partnership in a sustainable manner, aimed at long-term capacity building and mutual benefit.