Hundreds of medical facilities in Afghanistan An immediate closure is imminent as Western donors financing the facility have been barred from doing business with the new Taliban government, a World Health Organization official said today.
About 90% of the 2,300 health facilities across the country may need to be shut down as early as this week, Rick Brennan, the WHO’s regional director of emergencies, told Reuters.
The WHO official added that Western donors are facing rules that prevent them from doing business with the Taliban, without going into further details.
«We will take a break from business in a large percentage of these (health facilities). According to some estimates, up to 90% will probably stop working within a week and this will lead to an increase in illness and death.“, Noted Brennan.
The WHO was trying to fill the gap by providing supplies, equipment and funding to 500 of the health centers, he said.
The Health Agency is also cooperating with Qatar for air deliveries of medical supplies, he added.
«We hope to have up to two or three planes full of supplies that the Qatari government will arrange to fly to Kabul, probably within the next week.“, he said.
Subsequent deliveries will include tests for Covid and supplies for the treatment of chronic diseases.
Along with other aid agencies, the WHO is struggling to transport medical supplies to Afghanistan, including first aid kits, in part because of the chaos at Kabul airport.
Medical supplies continue to be transported through the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, and the WHO is also exploring options for land-based trucking from Pakistan, he added.
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