The poor and deprived people of Afghanistan have not been able to get their basic necessities of life easily. From the day of the installation of a democratic government, the condition has enhanced to a certain extent, nonetheless real changes are still there. Most of the issues regarding the life of poor civilians of Afghanistan have been dealt with on short-term basis alone.

The donors’ money based on the specific projects have only assisted the people for a certain period of time; while in most cases these projects only survive on the papers.

One of the rudimentary issues that Afghan people have been facing is the issue of dismal condition of health services. Even in the largest cities of the country, the health facilities are not proper and most of the diseases that people have remain untreated.

In the last few years the attentions that have been diverted towards the health facilities have only concentrated on the number of hospitals and medical units (even then the number is not enough), while neglecting the quality altogether. In case of public health, it is a very dangerous choice to make as lack of quality services in this case may lead to the worsening of the health and even death.

On the other hand the quality of services provided by government hospitals is really very low, their number is not sufficient and they are not established in most of the remote areas; therefore, most of the people do not have access to them. On the other hand private hospitals have been established that can, in no way, be afforded by the people who do not have enough food to eat.

Even the people who can afford the luxury of availing proper health facilities choose to visit neighboring countries for standard medical facilities. The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) in a report last year revealed that nearly 2,000 Afghans daily travelled abroad for treatment due to lack of standard facilities at home. ACCI chief executive Mohammad Qurban Haqjo had said that Afghan patients spent $2,000 to $10,000 on their treatment in hospitals in foreign countries, particularly in Pakistan and India. Haqjo had also said that Afghanistan lagged behind in providing its citizens with standard hospitals and quality health services.

Such a situation is really alarming and there should be solemn efforts to deal with the situation. Short term projects will never solve the health issues in Afghanistan. Afghan government and the supporting nations must follow long-term strategies to solve the issue, if they really want to help the people of Afghanistan.