ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Tens of thousands of people found access to health services in eastern Kunar province after the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the public health director said on Sunday.
Qari Muzafar Mukhlis told Pajhwok Afghan News new health centres were built in districts, including Asadabad, where people had been deprived of health facilities.
He said nearly 300,000 people benefited from the newly opened health centres.
“We built 62 new health centers in areas where people had no access to health facilities. We did so in cooperation with various international and national organizations and with the special attention of the Ministry of Public Health.”
The public health director said there were still areas where people lacked access to health facilities due to the province’s geographical location.
“Kunar is a mountainous province where people live in remote villages, there are no roads to many areas, so there is the need to provide health facilities to people in remote areas.”
He said after a comprehensive assessment, he shared with the ministry and some non-governmental organizations the names of areas that lacked health facilities or located away from health centres
Malik Abdul Wali, a resident of mountainous Chapari area in Wattapur district, said a new sub-health center was recently opened in their area and it resolved many health related problems of the people.
He said: “More than 10,000 people live in our area who had no access to any health facilities. We are happy that a health center has just been built here. This will solve all our issues.”
On the other hand, tribal leader Zahadullah, a resident of Helalzoy area of Shigal district, said thousands of families benefitted from a new health center in their area.
He recalled in the past he would take patients to the district health center after a long trip with many problems, but now a health center has been built in their area and their problems have been solved.
He said: “The district health center is far from us. We used to walk in the mountains for three hours to reach there. Now I am happy that health services are provided to us in our area.”
sa/ma
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