Herat youth develops app to raise awareness about illnesses

HERAT (Pajhwok): For the first time, a young man in western Herat has developed an online application to raise public awareness about non-communicable diseases including cancer and heart diseases.

This application, named “NCD,” was created by Mustafa Kaihan Akrami, the head of a technology company in Herat, with the help of a team of colleagues, at a cost of around $900 over the course of one and a half months.

Eng. Akrami told a Pajhwok Afghan News that, due to the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, he and his team decided to develop this informative app. Users can install it on their mobile phones or computers to receive reliable and scientific information about non-communicable diseases.

He added that all the information in this program is based on the needs of the people, and utmost care has been taken in collecting this information. The goal is to make the information simple and understandable, so it could be easily accessible to the public.

He said the app includes textual information and some audio content about non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

All the information has been gathered from doctors and professors in the relevant fields.

He added: “The idea came to my mind when I saw many people lack sufficient knowledge about cancer diseases, and they often realize their illness too late. Our goal in creating this app is to increase awareness and help people lead healthier lives.”

Referring to the importance of diseases prevention, he said: “Our message to the people and patients is that prevention is better than cure, and there are many ways to prevent diseases, with healthy nutrition being one of the most important. We need to improve our knowledge to prevent diseases.”

Meanwhile, officials at the Herat Regional Hospital report a 30 percent increase in cancer patients in Herat and emphasise the importance of raising public awareness to fight cancer.

Rahmatullah Barkazi, a doctor at the oncology department of Herat Regional Hospital, welcomed the launch of this app, considering it an effective step towards raising awareness, reducing, or even preventing various types of cancer.

Dr. Mohammad Tariq Sediqi, an oncology trainer at the Herat Regional Hospital, said that over 5,000 cancer patients have been registered at the hospital this year, marking an increase of over 1,500 patients compared to last year.

According to officials at the relevant department of Herat Regional Hospital, more than 23,000 cancer patients visited the hospital in the past six years.

sa/ma