Farah: Residents of 20 areas lack access to health centre

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): The Public Health Department of western Farah province says about 100, 000 residents of 20 areas have no access to healthcare services and face serious problems.

Maulvi Ehsanullah Shakir, director of public health, told Pajhwok Afghan News 10 small, two big and one mobile health centres had been established this year in different parts of the province, benefiting about 50,000 people.

He acknowledged despite the establishment of the health centres, around 100,000 inhabitants of the 20 localities were deprived of fundamental medical facilities.

Without naming the areas where health clinics had been established, Shakir said most of them were created in Gulistan, Parchaman and Farah Rud districts.

In order to address the issue, he said, they planned to establish 10 more health centres.

According to him, a well-equipped building for the maternity ward at Farah Hospital was established this year in addition to a pediatric ward and provision of ambulances.

On the other hand, a number of other residents of the province complain about the lack of healthcare services.

Abdul Hameed Hameed, hailing from Parchaman district, complained residents of many areas were deprived of basic health services.

“Ours is a remote and mountainous district. In winter, the main road remains closed due to snowfall. There is no hospital here, and people cannot take their patients to Farah City or other places.”

According to him, five populous areas of the district — Fask, Toli Sharif, Zaminda, Ghorzang and Faizabad — do not have any health centre.

A resident of Gulistan district, Ismatullah, told Pajhwok many areas of this district did not have health centres.

He says most of the time they cannot transfer their patients to medical facilities in other areas due to road closures or bumpy routes.

Many other people hold similar views and urge the government to resolve the problem on a priority basis.

sa/mud

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