ARCS provides $3m in annual aid to Mirwais Hospital

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) annually provides $3 million in aid to the Mirwais Hospital in southern Kandahar province, an official says.

The Mirwais hospital is the only major healthcare facility in the southern zone being visited by patients from Zabul, Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces, Dr. Mohammad Farhad, the hospital director, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He lauded ARCS for the annual grant, saying that government funds alone could not meet the hospital’s requirements.

In addition to the grant, the ARCS has hired 20 female and 20 male health workers at the hospital.

Farhad said the ARCS also assisted the hospital management in building the capacity building its doctors by arranging workshops and seminars. The hospital has 27 qualified specialist doctors in seven different departments.

Farhad said the Mirwais hospital was still facing shortage of doctors in the face of increasing number of patients.

Residents from neighboring provinces say they have been taking their patients to the Mirwais hospital because it offered better treatment.

Haji Mohammad, resident of Sangin district in Helmand said: “I have brought my injured son to the Mirwais hospital where he is properly treated.”

He said everyone in their area chose the Mirwais hospital for the best services it offered.

Najih, resident of Kandahar who has brought her daughter for treatment to the hospital, complained against the punctuality of doctors. She said most of the time, the doctors kept patients waiting for hours.

However, the hospital director said sometimes the number of patient increased, making it difficult for doctors to attend them all.

Some Kandahar residents say the increasing number of patient meant increased burden on the hospital. They said Kandahar needed a similar healthcare facility.

The Mirwais Hospital was constructed few years back with assistance from China. People of Kandahar also call it Chinese hospital.

It has 350 beds, 18 healthcare centres, 12 wards and a mobile health centre.

During a visit to Kandahar some time ago Public Health Minister Suraya Dalil had said health related activities had been stopped in Shorabak, Registan, Ghorak and Mianshin districts of Kandahar.

nh/ma

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