The current COVID-19 pandemic has heavily burdened the health care system in Afghanistan. As it was previously anticipated; Afghanistan has faced countless challenges in the era of the novel pandemic. These challenges posed an unprecedented level of burden on healthcare systems.
Except for the external refugees that were constantly returning, there was the mobility of afghans within the country who were displaced because of the raging conflicts. Their displacement in major cities such as Kabul, the capital was an unfavorable thing, as it resulted in increased levels of urbanization, mobility and rapid transmission of the virus amongst the vulnerable citizens. Moreover, the floods of immigrants from Pakistan and Iran who were coming back to the country to settle in Kabul was unsatisfying for the health care workers. There have been reports of inhumane treatment and disapprovals from the hospitals they were visiting in Pakistan and Iran. Their settlement in the country and the need for testing burdened the health care providers but was necessary to assure they were free of COVID-19.
From every angle to observe the situation of Afghanistan’s health care system holistically, fragility and poor infrastructure come into observation. The fact that the country has the least number of healthcare providers (One healthcare provider per 10,000 people) is also another major dilemma when it comes to providing the health facilities to the refugees and other citizens.
With the aforementioned setbacks and problems, the current health system is colliding massively because there is less space for caring and delivering health facilities to those immigrants and resided citizens in the country. To overcome the crisis, Afghanistan needs vital support from other international stakeholders.
Resources:
