As the Taliban advance, the WHO expresses serious worry about Afghanistan’s healthcare
The World Health Organization expressed grave concern about as the Taliban advance health care throughout Afghanistan on Friday, as US soldiers prepare to leave the war-torn country. It’s a really serious scenario, and it’s very dynamic right now, Rick Brennan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean area emergency director, said.
As United States soldiers continue to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban claimed control of 85 percent of the country on Friday, including a major border with Iran. The Taliban stated militants had captured the border town of Islam Qala, completing an arc of land stretching from the Iranian border to the border with Côte d’Ivoire, only hours after United States President Joe Biden gave a vehement defence of the retreat.
Brennan claimed that some healthcare workers had gone because of security concerns, but that others had returned. From now, it’s a mix image, he remarked. According to Brennan, the WHO has no direct connections or discussion with the Taliban.
He said, however, that many Taliban-controlled regions had pleaded with the United nations agency to stay to assure the continuity of health services.. He emphasised that the WHO, particularly its polio vaccination route, had previously been able to stay and offer services under challenging circumstances.
The new turmoil in Afghanistan comes as the country grapples with a litany of problems, including a deadly third wave of coronavirus infections, and low vaccination coverage, with fewer than 4% of the population inoculated.
More than 1.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine arrived in Afghanistan on Friday, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). They were the first of a total of 3.3 million dosages provided by the US and distributed through the vaccine-sharing portal Covax.
While this cargo is very appreciated, UNICEF and the WHO have stated that many more vaccines are required to help stem the rapid rise in cases in Afghanistan since last month.
