Acting Health Minister Ahmad Jawad Osmani said on Tuesday, Afghanistan had successfully crossed the first wave of Coronavirus infections and fresh cases had drastically reduced across the country.
Speaking at the opening of the “National Symposium to Coordinate Resources and Consensus to Provide Patient Safety, Strengthening the Health System and Medical Education,” Osmani said the minister was well prepared for a second wave of the virus and promised better services to potential patients.
He also added that over 85% of Afghans have access to health services, even those living in rural areas.
This has improved in the past several years, the minister said, adding that citizens, on an average, are within a one-hour distance from medical centres.
Developing a new health policy is a serious necessity
Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh said the development of a new Afghan health policy was a necessity without which “problems and challenges cannot be identified, and solutions cannot be found.”
He stressed that Afghanistan’s health system is facing many problems and concerns in terms of international standards compared to other countries, making it necessary to review the medical education system and the health sector accurately.
He added that political instability and the continuation of more than 40 years of war have been the main obstacles to the development and progress of Afghanistan in various sectors, including health.
However, Danesh added that in the past 19 years, despite significant progress in graduate education and health services, they have yet to meet the global standards and indicators.
He called for more coordination between the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Afghan Medical Council to find solutions to the challenges in the field.
