No female dentist in govt clinics, grumble Ghor residents

FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): Some residents of western Ghor province say there is no female dentist in governmental health centers and ask for solution to this problem, while provincial officials say the matter has been discussed with higher authorities.

The shortage of female doctors in health centers in remote areas of different provinces of the country remains a major challenge since many years.

Maryam, a resident of Ferozkoh City, complained about lack of female dentists in the provincial hospital and other health centers.

She said she visited the provincial hospital for two days, but male doctors treated her teeth.

Maryam said she was poor and could not afford to visit a private clinic for treatment by a female dentist.

“I am poor and cannot visit a female dentist at a private health center, if I visit a female dentist at a private health center, I must pay her 1,000 or 1,500 for filling the cavity of my tooth”.

“Poverty forced me to remove three of my teeth during the past four months because I could not afford the filling costs,” she said.

Maryam is not alone complaining about the lack of doctresses, other women and girls are also forced to visit male doctors in the provincial hospital or private clinics for treatment of their teeth.

Shukuria, a resident of the newly established “Al Farooq” district, said: “There is neither male nor female dentist in our district, if someone gets toothache, he/she must come to the provincial capital, but there is also no female dentist and women are treated by male doctors.”

Abdul Ali Azimi, another resident of Ferozkoh City, who brought his wife to one of the private clinics for treatment of her teeth, said this is the only dental clinic in the province where only one female dentist worked.

Azimi added: “There is only one female dentist in this province and she performs all dental treatments such filling the teeth, extraction, cleaning and other services for women”.

He added majority of the dentists in Ghor province were not professional and residents had no other option but to visit them.

The residents of Ghor urged the provincial authorities to ensure professional health workers, including doctresses, are available in health centers.

Female civil society activists said the basic need of Ghor residents was doctresses especially female dentists and urged the government to make such services accessible for all the women and girls.

Fariha Hikmat, one of the female activists, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “The women of this province were unfortunately paid no attention during the past two decades of rule of the previous governments and the two years of Islamic Emirate. We don’t have any female doctor in the dental department in the provincial hospital and in clinics and hospitals of districts and this shows the extreme negligence on the part of the government”.

Females feel uncomfortable when they visit male doctors for treatment of their teeth, she said, asking the government and donors to pay serious attention to hiring female dentists and doctresses.

Provincial officials accept there is no female dentist in all health centers and hospitals of Ghor province and female patients are treated by male doctors.

Doctor Gul Ahmad Sahil, Ghor provincial hospital director, told Pajhwok: “Currently we have no female dentist to treat female patients, this is a serious problem and we hope the government will consider this issue”.

Doctor Abdul Ahmad Noori, deputy head of the provincial public health department, confirmed the problem which he said remained unsolved from the past.

He said the provincial public health department had shared the issue with the Ministry of Public Health and had asked for its solution.

Aw/ma

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