Screening center at Torkham to prevent import of diseases

JALALABAD (Pajhwok):  A screening center is being established in Torkham town to prevent infectious diseases from entering Afghanistan from Pakistan, the Public Health Department of eastern Nangarhar province says.

Nangarhar Public Health director Dr. Amir Mohammad Aftab told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday that they held separate meetings with Torkham Mayor Ghazi Hamat and Commissioner Maulvi Muhammad Sadiq Khalid in order to select a place for the proposed center, he added.

According to him, Torkham Commissionerate officials marked a place for the screaning center and soon a group of engineers would be sent to the area to start initial works.

Dr. Aftab said such centers existed at all borders and ports of the world. He said Torkham was an important port on the Durand Line and recently many infectious diseases were transferred from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

According to his information, the proposed center is being built with financial and technical support of the World Health Organization (WHO) in coordination with the Public Health Department of Nangarhar.

The facility will be used to examine travelers and suspects at zero point. People will be quarantined and treated for a period of time.

Common people also welcomed the idea. Syed Raqib, a resident of Jalalabad city, told Pajhwok that sometimes various diseases were imported from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

“The establishment of the screening center  is a very important step and it will mostly prevent the transmission of infectious diseases.”

Torkham town is located in Momand Dara district of Nangarhar on the Durand Line, where people travel to Pakistan.

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