Rescue body warns over 90% of Afghan clinics face closure

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned that over 90 percent of Afghanistan’s health clinics are expected to shut down amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country.

The committee on Friday said in a report that the closure of health centers could deprive millions of Afghans of “basic care, threatening the COVID-19 response and creating a major risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and preventable deaths.”

The report stated that nearly half of Afghans were experiencing worse levels of food insecurity—the highest level ever recorded in Afghanistan and a 37 percent rise compared to six months earlier.

“Throughout early 2022, 55 percent of Afghans will face acute food insecurity, including nearly nine million people at emergency levels—one step before famine conditions,” the committee stated.

The committee warned that food insecurity would likely deepen in 2022 as the country continues to face shortages of food, rapidly rising food prices, and an ongoing drought.

“Hunger may drive further displacement, as evidenced by IRC assessments in five provinces in mid-2021 that identified lack of food and livelihoods as the top reasons for people leaving their homes,” the report read.