Afghanistan: Rapid decline in public health conditions, WHO warns

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 effect has besides declined and almost fractional of the country’s children are astatine hazard of malnutrition.

Moreover, the bureau pointed retired that lone 17 per cent of the implicit 2,300 wellness facilities antecedently supported by the World Bank, are afloat functional, two-thirds of which person tally retired of indispensable medicines.

Help connected the ground

Despite the rapidly deteriorating wellness situation, WHO is moving with donors to prolong wellness facilities to forestall outbreaks, and rising illness.

And arsenic the coronavirus continues to beryllium a important challenge, the UN wellness bureau is boosting surveillance and investigating capacities wrong the country.

“Recently, we person airlifted 50,000 COVID-19 tests that are being distributed to 32 labs crossed the country”, WHO said, adding that 10 much labs are besides being planned. 

Several humanitarian partners connected the crushed reiterated their committedness to proceed moving unneurotic with the UN to enactment the nation’s ailing wellness system. 

UN agencies basal firm

Speaking astatine a regular quality briefing successful New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists that the World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) volition beryllium scaling up their enactment successful the country, with up to 100 caller mobile wellness and nutrition teams. 

He besides relayed that the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said that midwives passim Afghanistan are continuing to operate, bringing captious life-saving attraction to women and girls successful need.

UNFPA’s midwifery helpline has been providing uninterrupted distant enactment to midwives facing analyzable deliveries, unsafe pregnancies and different captious concerns.

Financial resources forthcoming

A Flash Appeal launched connected 7 September by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) aims to assistance 11 cardinal radical past arsenic nutrient is moving retired and the country’s basal services are connected the verge of collapse.

Requesting $606 cardinal successful the remaining months of this year, Mr. Dujarric reminded that the entreaty is lone 22 per cent funded, which according to OCHA’s calculation, represents conscionable $135 million.  

“The UN is asking donors to fast-track backing to forestall avoidable deaths, forestall displacement and trim suffering”, helium said. “We are besides asking our donors to guarantee that backing is flexible capable to accommodate to the fast-changing conditions connected the ground”.