Health facilities less compared to Helmand’s population: Residents

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): The number of hospitals and other health facilities in southern Helmand province is less compared to the province’s population, residents say.

Public Health Department officials confirm this issue and say the available health centers have been established according to the previous census and now the province’s population in has increased a lot.

Sayed Wali, a resident of Musa Qala district, said there was only one hospital in the entire district and the facility could not cope with all patients.

He said most patients of Musa Qala district were taken to the provincial hospital in Lashkargah and sometimes the patients die on the way.

“In terms of area and population, Helmand is the largest province in the country, the government should provide services in every area here, especially in the health sector, keeping in mind these two things.”

He asked the government to carry out a new census in Helmand and provide health services to the people according to the census.

Ajmal, a resident of Lakki area in Garamsir district, also said only one health center existed in the district and people had transfer their patients to Lashgarkah hospital or neighboring Kandahar province for treatment.

He said the people of Helmand lived in poverty and they could not afford the cost of transferring their patients to other areas.

He also urged the government to dispatch an authorized delegation of the Ministry of Public Health to Helmand and build health centers according to the province’s population.

Nad Ali district residents also told Pajhwok there was only one health clinic in the district and they were forced to shift their patients to Lashkargah due to high number of patients visiting the facility.

Helmand public health director Dr. Sayed Ahmad Saeed said about 256 health centers existed in the entire province, including mobile hospitals.

He said among these centers, only 43 had buildings and the rest were either mobile hospitals or provided services in other government buildings and rented houses.

Without giving details, he added Helmand was a large province in terms of area and population, but health services were provided according to the previous survey. He said he had shared this issue with the Ministry of Public Health and hoped action would be taken to resolve it.

Various facilities, including health centers, have been destroyed due to more than four decades of war in the country and their reconstruction requires a lot of time and cost.

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