World Health Organization to stay in Afghanistan

The World Health Organization (WHO) will continue to assist the Afghan people during this challenging period, WHO official representative Tarik Jasarevic said at a briefing in Geneva, Report informs referring to TASS.

The health and well-being of Afghan civilians, especially women and girls, is of paramount importance. In this challenging period, it is necessary to ensure the provision of essential services, support health workers and maintain the healthcare infrastructure, he said.

WHO is committed to stay in Afghanistan and provide the treatment needed to save lives, and it will continue to respond quickly to the growing needs in the country, he added.

The healthcare system in Afghanistan is facing a shortage of essential medical supplies and equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic, the official said. The COVID vaccination and other key immunization programs have been hit hard by military actions. Disruptions to the airport in Kabul are causing badly needed supplies to be delayed in the health sector. The WHO calls on all parties to the conflict to fulfill their commitments in international humanitarian law and human rights. The achievements of the past 20 years must not be reversed, he concluded.

In turn, UNICEF’s chief of field operations in Afghanistan, Mustapha Ben Messaoud, said at a briefing that since the beginning of the year, more than 550 children had been killed and more than 1,400 injured in Afghanistan during the armed conflict. More than 18 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance, including about 10 million children. The UNICEF representative called on the radical Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) and all other parties to the conflict to protect the lives and rights of all people, including women and girls, their access to education.