Afghan crisis: Doctors stage protest in Kabul over unpaid salaries

Hundreds of doctors from the Afghan provinces of Samangan and Nuristan gathered at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul to demand unpaid salaries. The doctors staged a protest and asked that the World Bank deal with the situation. The doctors have not been paid for the last 14 months. According to Khaama Press, the protestors also noted that their clinics in their respective areas were suffering from a severe lack of medicine.

The protesting doctors accused an Afghan World Bank contractor, Asad Fayaz, of fleeing the country and stealing money from the World Bank. According to them, Fayaz was providing medical services, drugs, and doctor salaries throughout the provinces under a two-year health contract.

Doctors warn of continued protests is salaries are not paid

According to Khaama News, a protestor said that Asad Fayaz has taken their money and escaped Afghanistan. The protestor further said that in the provinces of Samangan and Nuristan, Asad led a corrupt firm, which resulted in a spike in infant and maternal mortality. The protesting doctors said in a statement that because the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has no contacts with the World Bank and hence is unable to request funds, they have asked the World Bank to send their funds directly to Afghanistan's health ministry or other non-governmental organisations. Meanwhile, doctors have warned that if their salaries are not paid, they will continue to protest.

Banks have been closed since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August, leaving millions of people without cash. Employers have failed to pay their employees, and those who do have money in their accounts are unable to withdraw it. The situation in the country is rapidly deteriorating since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 forcing the Ashraf Ghani-led government to resign.

News agency Xinhua reported that the Taliban's administration recently paid government employees salaries for two months in a number of departments in Afghanistan, including education. However, the majority of the state's 400,000 employees, on the other hand, have been working without pay since July.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: Unsplash)