Afghanistan's healthcare system is at risk of collapse,
two major aid agencies told Reuters, after foreign donors stopped providing aid
following the Taliban takeover.
اضافة اعلان
After the United States withdraw the bulk of its remaining
troops last month, the Taliban accelerated its military campaign,
taking control of the capital Kabul on August 15.
International donors including the World Bank and European
Union froze funding to Afghanistan shortly afterwards.
"One of the great risks for the health system here is
basically to collapse because of lack of support," said Filipe Ribeiro,
Afghanistan representative for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), one of the
largest medical aid agencies in the country.
"The overall health system in Afghanistan is
understaffed, under-equipped, and underfunded, for years. And the great risk is
that this underfunding will continue over time."
Necephor Mghendi, Afghanistan head of the International
Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), said the healthcare
system, which was already fragile and heavily reliant on foreign aid, had been
left under additional strain.
"The humanitarian needs on the ground are
massive," he said.
Increased demand
Both aid agencies said that while their ground operations
were broadly unaffected, they had seen a significant increase in demand as other
facilities are unable to fully function.
Mghendi said closures of Afghan banks had meant almost all
humanitarian agencies have been unable to access funds, leaving vendors and
staff unpaid.
Compounding the issue, medical supplies will now need to be
restocked earlier than expected.
"Supplies that were supposed to last for three months
will not be able to last three months. We may need to replenish much earlier
than that," Mghendi said.
Ribeiro said MSF had stockpiled medical supplies before the
takeover but that with flights disrupted and land borders in disarray, it was
unclear when more might reach the country.
The World Health Organization said on Monday that a plane
carrying 12.5 tonnes of medicines and health supplies had landed at
Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, the first such shipment since the
Taliban took control.
During its period in power from 1996–2001, the Islamist
militant Taliban had an uneasy relationship with foreign aid agencies,
eventually expelling many, including MSF, in 1998.
This time, the group has said it welcomes foreign donors,
and will protect the rights of foreign and local staff — a commitment that has
so far been upheld, Ribeiro said.
"They actually ask us to stay, and they asked us to
keep running our operations the way we were running them before," he said.
"The relations are, so far, pretty reassuring."
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