Allowing Afghanistan's healthcare system to fall apart would be 'disastrous': WHO chief

Almost 40 days after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday, visited Kabul to review the health care system in the war-torn country. The WHO chief visited several hospitals in Kabul, following which he warned that Afghanistan's healthcare system "is on the brink of collapse". During the visit, he met with senior members of the Taliban leadership, UN partners, health care workers and patients, and WHO staff and also chaired a high-level meeting with them.

This development comes as the UN's top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, has announced the release of USD 45 million from an emergency fund to support the healthcare system in the war-ravaged country. "Allowing Afghanistan's healthcare delivery system to fall apart would be disastrous," said Griffiths. "People across the country would be denied access to primary healthcare such as emergency caesarean sections and trauma care."  Later in a tweet, the WHO chief welcomed this announcement in support of critical health needs in Afghanistan. He said: "UNCERF is one of the fastest and most effective ways to ensure that urgently needed humanitarian assistance reaches the most vulnerable. A heartfelt thanks to all UNCERF donors"

Before concluding his visit, Ghebreyesus took to the microblogging site Twitter and shared the ordeal of the health care staff while admitting the patients. He said that the decline in international funding has forced the hospital staff to determine "who to save and who to let die".

"Afghanistan's health system is on the brink of collapse. Unless urgent action is taken, the country faces an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. Our visit allowed us to witness the immediate needs of the Afghan people firsthand and meet with stakeholders to define ways to urgently scale up our health response," he said.

WHO chief warns for catastrophic results if COVID hospitals won't work properly

The WHO chief further said that the country's largest health project, Sehetmandi, is now not in the condition to take further loads due to the deteriorating condition of the war-torn country. According to him, one out of five Sehetmandi facilities were able to provide facilities to the citizens. He added that hundreds of medical facilities are not in the condition to pay salaries to the health care staff. "This breakdown in health services is having a rippling effect on the availability of basic and essential health care, as well as on emergency response, polio eradication, and COVID-19 vaccination efforts," he said. Ghebreyesus noted that 30 per cent of the COVID dedicated hospitals were already closed or on the verge of collapse. He warned the result would be catastrophic as the three important pillars -- surveillance, testing and vaccination-- were not working as expected.  

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: Twitter/@DrTedros)