Health
Health ministry to build public clinics in 300 districts
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) says it plans to build public clinics in 300 districts of the country so that at least the people of Afghanistan have access to basic health services.
Qalandar Ebad, acting minister of health, said during an accountability report on Sunday that health services are difficult in remote parts of the country and the Islamic Emirate will provide health services for the people in a better way considering the facilities.
“Health services in the provinces and the suburban areas are greatly affected, especially at the district level, and nearly 300 districts do not have clinics and hospitals,” said Ebad.
He also added that in order to provide better health services, they have signed memorandums of understanding with national and international institutions, adding that over the past year, more than 39,000 drug addicts have been treated.
He said that a 4.2 billion AFN budget was allocated for them and they were able to issue licenses for 685 private health centers and for 6,000 health personnel.
“The normal budget of 3.6 billion afghanis was allocated to us, of which 55% has been used and 45% is left,” said Ebad.
“We were allocated 576 million afghanis for the development budget, of which we used 52%, and in 1401, we were allocated 4.2 billion afghanis, of which we used 54 percent,” he added.
Health officials also said that two cases of polio have been recorded in the country, and that 1.3 million malnourished children have been treated in the past year.
According to them, currently more than 4,000 hospitals are operating throughout the country.
Over the past year, 15,000 tons of low-quality and outdated materials have been collected by this ministry, and all the usurped government lands have also been reclaimed.
According to health officials, more than 22% of the ministry’s employees are women.
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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