Connect with us

Health

Kunduz experiences spike in TB cases

Published

on

Health officials in the northern province of Kunduz said Sunday that the infectious disease claimed the lives of eight people last (solar) year while 1,700 others  contracted the illness.

Patients in the provincial hospital said the main reason for them having contracted the disease was financial woes as they weren’t able to buy healthy food or visit doctors.

“When I contracted the disease, I did not have money. I went to doctor twice but got not result. Finally I came to the center, now I feel good. Thanks to the center,” said Mah Jabin, a patient.

Doctors at the provincial hospital confirm that people’s dire financial situation and poverty are the major causes of the spike in the number of TB patients.

“We registered 1,713 patients of Tuberculosis in the year 1400 whereas the number was 1,605 in 1399. Poverty and economic difficulties are the big reasons behind the increase,” said Nasrullah Anwari, the head of the provincial Tuberculosis program in Kunduz.

In the meantime, Najibullah Sahil, the head of public health in Kunduz province, urged people to cooperate with them by referring people, who have had continuous coughs for more than two weeks, to a clinic.

Sahil said there was medicine available.

Health workers at the clinic said Tuberculosis, which affects a person’s respiratory system, can be fatal but it is also curable.

There are a total of 75 health centers providing treatment for the disease both in the provincial capital and districts.

Health

UNICEF ensures 6.1 million people have access to basic health services in Afghanistan

Published

on

More than six million people accessed essential health and nutrition services at UNICEF-supported health facilities last month, the UN agency said in its latest Humanitarian Situation Report for September 1 to 30.

UNICEF said of the 6.1 million people who accessed essential health and nutrition services, half of them were children under the age of five.

In addition, 50 schools in 10 provinces gained access to safe water, handwashing facilities, and newly constructed or rehabilitated toilet facilities.

However, as of September, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal for children in Afghanistan is only 41 percent funded.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance following decades of conflict, extreme climate shocks, and severe economic decline.

UNICEF also stated that this year, 33 percent of the population receives most of their income from unsustainable income sources, compared to 26 percent in 2023.

Continue Reading

Health

Polio vaccination campaign kicks off in Afghanistan

Published

on

Public Health Ministry officials have confirmed that a polio vaccine campaign across 16 provinces was launched on Monday.

Sharaft Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Health, says that the campaign got underway on Monday in a number of provinces including Kabul, Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul, Farah, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan and some other provinces.

Amarkhil said the campaign will last for three days and an estimated 6.2 million children under the age of five will receive the anti-polio vaccine.

Zaman called on parents, religious scholars and ethnic elders to cooperate with the ministry's vaccinators in implementing the anti-polio vaccination campaign for children under five years old in the mentioned provinces.

The World Health Organization meanwhile published its latest Polio Bulletin on Monday and confirmed Afghanistan has recorded 23 cases of Wild Polio Virus so far this year.

Pakistan meanwhile reported two new cases this week - one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the other in Balochistan province.

Pakistan has recorded a total of 41 cases of polio so far this year, bringing the total between the two countries to 64, against last year’s total of 12 (Afghanistan 6 and Pakistan 6).
World Polio Day

Marking World Polio Day last week, UNICEF pointed out that the current data issues a stark warning that the life-threatening disease continues to thrive in areas where conflict, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and other destabilizing factors make it difficult to deliver critical healthcare.

“In conflict, children face more than bombs and bullets; they are at risk of deadly diseases that should no longer exist,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“In many countries, we are witnessing the collapse of healthcare systems, destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the displacement of families, triggering a resurgence of diseases like polio. Children are being left paralyzed, unable to walk, play, or attend school."

A global decline in childhood immunization has also led to an increase in polio outbreaks, including in countries that had been polio-free for decades.

Nowhere is this more evident than in conflict-affected areas, with 15 out of 21 such countries – including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen – currently battling polio.

In recent months, UNICEF and partners have intensified emergency responses to surges in polio outbreaks.

In Gaza, for example, UNICEF, in partnership with WHO, reached nearly 600,000 children under 10 years during the first round of a polio vaccination campaign in mid-September. The second and final round has been successfully implemented in south and central Gaza, but renewed mass displacement and bombings have delayed the process in the north.

The campaign follows the return of polio to Gaza for the first time in 25 years.

Continue Reading

Health

AIJU seals deal with private hospital for Afghan media workers

The MoU was signed during a ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, between Hojatullah Mujadadi, the head of the union, and the director of the private hospital Abdullah Yousafzai.

Published

on

The Afghanistan Independent Journalists Union (AIJU) says it has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private hospital in Kabul to provide discounted health services to journalists.

The MoU was signed during a ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, between Hojatullah Mujadadi, the head of the union, and the director of the private hospital Abdullah Yousafzai.

Mujadadi welcomed the move and said this was part of the union’s efforts to ensure media workers are provided with adequate health services.

According to the AIJU, media workers and their immediate families, which include their parents, siblings, spouse and children, will be entitled to substantial discounts for medical treatment at the hospital.

The AIJU said charges would be discounted by between 50% and 70% for media workers.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Ariana News. All rights reserved!