Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Lack of Standard Health Services

Afghanistan falls among the countries where health facilities and services are almost negligible. As for everything, three decades of consistent war and conflict can be held responsible. Afghanistan not only lacks medical equipment and installation but also professional physicians. Therefore, every year thousands of Afghans have to travel to neighboring and other countries of the wo

rld for the purpose of availing standard medical services. But such Afghans are from the middle and upper class of Afghan society. What about the poor people who form more than 60 % of our population? They have to rely on the poor medical services provided by government hospitals and wait for their death, in case of acute sorts of diseases.

The services being provided in the public hospitals located in capital Kabul are inadequate and not according to standards. The condition is worse at district and provincial levels. The hospitals in capital are overcrowded because of the influx of patients from across Afghanistan. The private hospitals on the other hand provide better facilities and services but the charges are very high for a common Afghan to afford.

In the last decade, Afghanistan has failed to significantly reconstruct and develop its key national infra-structures including the health sector. The responsibility of this failure goes largely to the government of Afghanistan. Lack of proper planning, government's will and corruption are the challenges ahead of our health sector.

The financial and technical contribution and support of international community to the health sector can not be denied and are commendable. But this is the government that has failed to properly utilize the huge amounts of funds it has received in the last ten years and still receiving. Really, today we would have better hospitals and medical professionals, if the donated money could have been utilized in better way.

The achievements in the post-Taliban Afghanistan for saving the lives of people are negligible and insufficient. This has doubled the pains of Afghans.Today, the health sector of Afghanistan is in dire need of serious attention and more investments and better health services are required to be further expanded.