The people of Afghanistan, for the last few decades, have not been able to get their rudimentary requirements of life easily. Since the installation of a democratic government, the situation has improved to a certain extent, yet real changes are to be seen. Most of the matters relevant to the life of poor civilians of Afghanistan have been handled on short-term basis. The donors’ money based on the specific projects have only supported the people for a particular period of time; while in most cases these projects only exist on the papers.
One of the basic issues that Afghan people have been facing is the issue of pathetic condition of health services. Even in the largest cities of the country, the health facilities are not appropriate 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) on Tuesday, Sept. 03, 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 said Afghan patients spent $2,000 to $10,000 on their treatment in hospitals in foreign countries, particularly in Pakistan and India. Addressing a gathering marking the launch of an international health exhibition in Kabul, Haqjo said Afghanistan still lagged behind in providing its citizens with standard hospitals and quality health services.
Such a scenario is really dreadful and there should be serious efforts to deal with the situation. Short term projects will never solve the health issues in Afghanistan. Afghan government and the supporting nations must pursue long-term strategies to handle the issue, if they want to help the people of Afghanistan.