Health
WHO chief says monkeypox is now a global emergency
The head of the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency on Saturday.
UN health agency Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement after the WHO’s expert committee couldn’t reach a consensus on whether to apply the highest level of alert to the virus.
The “global emergency” designation may help spur more investment in combatting the disease amid a scramble for scarce vaccines, USA Today reported.
There is “a clear risk of further international spread,” Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
“So in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little,” he said.
“… For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.”
Symptoms of the disease begin to appear seven to 14 days after exposure and include fever, muscle aches, exhaustion and a rash that can appear on the body.
So far, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where a more dangerous version of the virus is spreading.
Last month, 3,040 monkeypox cases had been reported in 47 countries. Since then, the outbreak has ballooned to more than 16,000 reported cases in more than 70 countries.
In the meantime, the officials of Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan have said about the preparation of the Ministry to prevent this virus, saying that no positive sample of this virus has been registered in the country so far.
In addition, this ministry said that it would quarantine suspicious people at the borders of the country.
“We have our own measures to prevent this virus, and most of these cases are transmitted as a result of travel, and we have considered appropriate quarantine places for infected people,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the health ministry.
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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