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Global fund allocates $4.7 million for health services to Afghan returnees
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has allocated over $4.7 million in emergency funding to provide health services for HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria to the 1.3 million Afghans returning from Pakistan in the coming year.
This emergency funding supplements a $66 million grant that began on Jan. 1, 2024, spanning three years and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Annelise Hirschmann, Head of Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean Department at the Global Fund, noted the significance of the influx: “The anticipated 1.3 million people represent over 3% of Afghanistan’s population. This increase, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas bordering Pakistan, poses an epidemiological risk and necessitates reinforced HIV, TB, and malaria services.”
The emergency funds will be used as follows:
Malaria: Diagnostic services, distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in high-risk areas, and training for residents in low-risk provinces to prevent the spread from high-risk areas in Pakistan.
Tuberculosis: Creation of point-of-care facilities at the border with testing equipment, expansion of active case finding, integrated sample transportation, and treatment.
AIDS: Voluntary testing at border entry points, counseling, and continued treatment for displaced individuals.
Stephen Rodriques, UNDP Afghanistan Resident Representative, expressed confidence in the existing systems to meet the returnees’ immediate health needs. “With this emergency funding from the Global Fund, we can further minimize health risks for the returnees, who are in a precarious situation. We welcome this decision and anticipate continued collaboration with the Global Fund,” he said.
Pakistan says communities living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Durand Line want peace and stability, despite ongoing security concerns in the region.
Speaking during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said there are no major issues between the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that residents on both sides of the Durand Line want peaceful relations and greater regional stability.
However, Andrabi claimed that terrorism originating from Afghan territory continues to undermine peace efforts.
He said Islamabad believes militant activity crossing from Afghanistan remains a significant obstacle to improving regional security and bilateral ties.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected such allegations, maintaining that no militant group is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries.
Andrabi also said Pakistan remains diplomatically engaged on regional matters involving Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Somalia, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain Islamabad’s preferred means of resolving disputes.
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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.
The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
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