Devastated by attack on maternity ward, says MSF

KABUL, mothers and their babies at its maternity ward in the Dasht-i-Barchi hospital of Kabul.  

With pregnant women and babies seeking healthcare, MSF said in a statement, an unknown number of attackers stormed the maternity ward through a series of explosions and gunfire, lasting several hours.

MSF condemned the attack as a senseless act of cowardly violence, which deprived women and children in Kabul of a fundamental healthcare service, in a context where access to essential care is already limited.

“We mourn the loss of several patients and we have indications that at least one Afghan colleague was also killed … every effort is being made by our medical team to follow up on the newborns in the maternity ward…”

The humanitarian medical NGO added its staff was trying “to ensure the best possible care for our patients and those injured, to provide psychological care to affected staff, and to provide every necessary support to those bereaved.”

While fighting was ongoing, one woman gave birth to her baby and both were doing well, the statement said. For the time being, medical activities in the maternity ward are suspended, but not closed.

“More than ever, we stand in solidarity with the Afghan people,” said the Paris-based organisation, which opened the 55-bed maternity ward in Dasht-i-Barchi hospital in 2014.

Since the beginning of this  year, 5,401 babies were delivered at the maternity ward, and 524 others received treatment in the newborn unit and mother-care unit for critical care.

pr/mud