KABUL (Pajhwok): The Minister of Public Health says specialist posts will be allocated to deprived provinces, contracts of underperforming organisations will be cancelled and joint efforts intensified to eradicate polio.
Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali made the remarks on Sunday at the opening of a four-day coordination and capacity-building workshop for provincial officials in Kabul.
He said the workshop would focus on key issues, progress and challenges within the health system, as well as the country’s current health situation.
Jalali said the Directorate of Medical Specialisation had been tasked with allocating a special quota of specialist posts to deprived provinces in order to train professionals in various health fields and address local needs.
He added that, under a new procedure, candidates sitting the specialist examination would be required to serve for at least two years in district-level facilities.
The minister urged provincial officials to standardise semi-medical institutes, improve the quality of teaching and continuously monitor academic activities.
He said the ministry also planned to establish a traditional medicine department at Ghazanfar Medical Institute to facilitate education in the field.
Jalali stressed that contracts of organisations failing to deliver services in line with agreements would be terminated, adding that aid from donor countries must reach those in need or serious action would be taken.
He asked provincial officials to obtain proposals, contracts and agreements from active organisations and NGOs, monitor their activities and ensure accountability to the public.
He noted that in some provinces, poor management by organisations had led to delays or reductions in staff salaries, while medicines and medical supplies were often not delivered to health centres as stipulated in contracts.
Jalali said Afghanistan remained among the countries where polio persists and called for serious, coordinated efforts to eliminate the disease.
Meanwhile, UNICEF representative Tajuddin Oyewale said joint efforts were needed to strengthen the health sector and that gaps still remained.
Similarly, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Dr Khushal Zaman said such meetings provided an important opportunity to share challenges and identify solutions.
He added that polio eradication was among the Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) top priorities, noting that Afghanistan remained one of only two countries still battling the virus.
According to him, 21 polio cases were recorded in 2025, while three positive cases have been reported so far this year.
He stressed that Afghanistan had the capacity to eliminate the poliovirus.
kk/sa
