Residents in the remote parts of the earthquake-stricken Gayan district of Paktika province complain of not having access to medical care.
They said that they lack access to health facilities and that they are facing various challenges to treat their patients.
“There is no clinic, no doctor, and the people are suffering many problems,” said Sabdar, a resident of Gayan district.
“Nothing has been done for us in the health sector; trust me, we don’t have any physicians,” said Adam Gul, another resident of Gayan district.
According to residents, they are forced to take their patients to Khost or other places with medical facilities because there aren’t any centers in the district.
“The roads are destroyed, and there is a risk of death until we transfer the patients to health centers,” Noor Rahman, a resident of Gayan, told TOLOnews.
“We would face a thousand challenges if we go to Ergon district or Khost province from here, and when it snows again, these routes will be closed,” Mohammad Rahim, another resident of Gayan told TOLOnews.
Residents say women are more vulnerable than men as a result of the earthquake in the Paktika province’s Gayan district.
“Women’s mental illness has grown, miscarriages have increased, and women’s diarrhea has also increased since the earthquake,” said Ziba, a health employee at Gayan district.
However, health officials of Paktika Public Health Department said that in addition to one hospital in the province, there are other mobile medical groups operating in the Gayan district.
“With the assistance of the ICRC, we have provided health services to many villages,” said Mohammad Tesal Nayel, head of the media of Public Health Department of Paktika.
Nearly 90% of the homes in the Gayan district of Paktika province were destroyed by the earthquake this summer.
The majority of people in Gayan currently live in tents.
