AFGHANISTAN /

20 AUGUST 2021 /

“Sustained access to humanitarian assistance, including essential health services and medical supplies, is a critical lifeline for millions of Afghans, and must not be interrupted. Months of violence have taken a heavy toll on Afghanistan’s fragile health system, which had already been facing shortages in essential supplies amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” the World Health Organization warned in the context of the Afghan crisis on 18 August,2021.

“One-third of the population was facing crisis and emergency levels of acute food insecurity and more than half of all children under five years of age were malnourished”, WHO officials noted the grave situation in that country.

Following the Taliban takeover and after repeated warnings from the UN on rising violence in the country, WHO has heavily impacted Afghanistan’s already fragile health system.

“Delays and disruptions to health care will increase the risk of disease outbreaks and prevent some of the most vulnerable groups from seeking life-saving health care. There is an immediate need to ensure continuity of health services across the country, with a focus on ensuring women have access to female health workers”, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean responded through UN Media.

On 15 August 2021, President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan following the victory of the Taliban in Kabul.

Taliban has been keeping control over most of the towns and cities in the country after the withdrawal of US forces.

Leaders of the Taliban have stated that they will work to resolve the problems faced by the people and strive to build an open inclusive Islamic government.