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    Afghan Health Minister: Health Care Is 'On The Verge Of Collapse' But 'I'm Optimistic'

    by Kamala Thiagarajan Sep 18, 2021 5 minutes
    A newly-opened COVID-19 hospital in Kabul. Dr. Wahid Majrooh, the acting minister of public health in Afghanistan, must address the pandemic's toll at a time when the Taliban takeover has triggered a freeze in hundreds of millions of dollars in health-care aid from outside groups.

    Dr. Wahid Majrooh is acting minister of public health in Afghanistan, and he faces two looming challenges: leading the country's COVID response and maintaining health-care services in the wake of the Taliban takeover in mid-August.

    The COVID situation is daunting: over 150,000 cases and 7,000 deaths so far.

    The overall health-care picture is critical as well. To prevent the Taliban from gaining access to aid money, the World Bank and other international aid organizations suspended $600 million in funding, including support for the Sehatmandi project, which paid salaries for 20,000 health-care workers at 2,800 facilities across the country. Because of the suspension in funds, are shutting down, leaving the Afghan people bereft of care, both because of the inability to pay staff and the general lack of funding for health-care resources.

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