Afghans call on incoming government to improve health care

centralasiaonline.com

Afghanistan's healthcare industry is in shambles and requires immediate attention, citizens say.

KABUL – Afghan residents are looking forward to the next government coming up with reforms to fix the country's broken healthcare system as they head to the polls June 14 to choose a new president.

While international investment in machinery has given the healthcare infrastructure a boost since 2001, the country still has many hurdles and tasks ahead of it.

"Things have improved tremendously in the past 12 years or so, but the mission is far from accomplished," said Dr. Amir Hayat, a medico based in Kabul. "The fact that most Afghans head to other countries for treatment shows how littlethey trust their own hospitals here."

Hayat suggests upgrading the infrastructure and training doctors as the way forward. "The new government has to take it up with more seriousness than the previous government; it has to be a priority," he said. Medical care availability, shortcomings in Afghanistan The country has made improvements in the healthcare industry in recent years. About 2,170 healthcare centres operate across the country, according to the Ministry of Public Health, and they are more widespread than they were in 2001, when key cities had hospitals, but outlying districts had no real options.

About 75% of Afghans have access to healthcare services, up from the 9% who could get treatment under the Taliban's rule, Oxfam, a global anti-hunger NGO, estimated in its 2013 annual report.

And the mortality rate for children under the age of 5 has dropped to 99 per 1,000 live births in 2012, from 176 per 1,000 live births in 1990, according to UNICEF data.

But the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN's public health arm, calls Afghanistan's health status one of the worst in the world with the per capita incidence of some of the indicators of ill health three- to five-fold higher than in neighbouring countries.

Insurgents also continue to attack healthcare facilities.

"Militants have destroyed the healthcare system in provinces like Kandahar, Helmand and Baglan," Kanishka Turistani, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, said. "They … don't care about the public." Lack of quality care The healthcare industry faces challenges, Mohammad Ishaq Fayaz, an industry observer, agreed.

"There are run-of-the-mill hospitals and dispensaries across the country, but the quality is missing," he said. "The focus must be on quality services and upgrades to healthcare infrastructure."

The next president, Fayaz said, should focus on standardising healthcare services and raising hospitals to a par with those in neighbouring countries.

A shortage of modern and sophisticated medical equipment makes the job difficult.

In remote areas, healthcare centres lack even basic equipment, forcing patients to journey to larger cities.

"The next government must appoint an expert committee to suggest how the problems related to poor health care can be immediately addressed," said Dr. Abdul Toori of Jalalabad. "The out-dated equipment must be replaced to start with, and medics should be trained in using it."

A multi-faceted approach to improving health care A wide-ranging strategy must be the hallmark of improving the healthcare system, Dr. Abdul Halim, former deputy education minister, said. He noted several factors that require attention, including the promotion of preventive medicine and availability of affordable treatment. But real improvement, he said, is rooted in better training for medical professionals.

"The new government should send healthcare professionals to advanced countries ... to help them improve their skills and learn how to operate the latest technological devices," he said. "Then they will be in a position to offer quality health care at par with other countries in the region."

The next government must develop healthcare infrastructure in villages and small towns, medical insiders agree.

"People from various provinces come to Kabul for treatment, but they are left dejected because for most of them the diagnosis is wrong," Dr. Muneer Azizi, a Kabul-based medico, said. "The new government should invest generously in villages, provide them clean drinking water and train young medicos to take care of patients there."