KABUL

- The Afghan Ministry of Health says that the number of people infected with cholera has increased in recent months, despite the decline in cases in recent years, and that health departments have started campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of cholera and ways to combat it.

During the past three months, 10 states, most of them southern and northern, witnessed a remarkable increase in the registration of cholera cases, and the statistics of the Ministry of Health confirm that the situation is serious in the south, where hospitals are facing a lack of medical staff and medicine.

Al Jazeera Net obtained official figures showing the rate of cholera outbreaks in Afghanistan between 2019 and 2022. In 2019, the number of infections reached 21,925, compared to 13,696 in 2020, while 18,247 cases were recorded during 2021, compared to 52,397 cases in 2022. .

The disease caused the death of 130 children out of 4,470 infected children in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul and Uruzgan in the south of the country, while Zabul alone recorded 23,000 injuries and more than 14 deaths, while Helmand recorded 1,400 cases, Kandahar 770, Uruzgan 55, Paktia two thousand cases, and Khost and Paktika 1,200. Faryab has 700 cases.

The director of Zabul Hospital, Muhammad, told Al Jazeera Net, "Two months ago, cholera spread in the southern states, especially Zabul, and we established 7 roving medical teams to educate people, register cases, and transfer the injured to a private hospital for cholera treatment, but we are facing the problem of medical staff and medicine."

A large spread of cholera among children in the southern Afghan states (Al-Jazeera)

tragic situation

A number of doctors confirm that the situation in the states and remote areas is tragic due to the lack of a clear mechanism for registering the injured and those who lose their lives due to cholera, as the states hit by floods, rains and drought witnessed a noticeable rise in the outbreak of the disease in the absence of medical capabilities and the necessary assistance to combat it.

The doctor at Zabul Hospital Ihsan Inder told Al Jazeera Net that poverty and lack of health awareness are among the most important reasons for the spread of cholera in Afghanistan, as people cannot obtain health services in the first stage of their cholera infection, and the injured does not see a doctor except when cholera is able to.

In most of the southern states, there is no service to deliver potable water to homes, as the people of villages and rural areas depend on water basins and running water, and according to official figures, 42% of Afghans do not have access to potable water, and Dr. Balusha Kakar tells Al Jazeera Net that the main reason for the outbreak is Cholera in the southern states is the lack of access to clean water, people's lack of concern for hygiene and poor health services.

Open defecation remains a serious challenge in Afghanistan because human waste near waterways and living environments rapidly transmits diseases and puts children and their families at risk. People's lifestyle has a direct impact on health status, as there are no sanitation facilities in villages and rural areas.

On the other hand, people lack awareness about the things necessary for a healthy life from diseases, and according to Dr. Qol Muhammad, "about 90% of the people of Zabul province do not have bathrooms and toilets in their homes and they defecate in the open," and he expresses his belief in his talk to Al Jazeera Net that the main reason is Poverty, and previous governments "neglected these areas due to war and security tension."

Establishment of 7 medical teams in the state of Zabul to follow up the health status of patients (Al-Jazeera)

economic dimension

After the Taliban movement came to power in 2021, international aid, which constitutes 75% of the government budget, stopped, and more than 90% of health centers, including clinics in remote areas of Afghanistan, were closed, and the American withdrawal led to the departure of medical personnel, which had an impact on the provision of services. health across the country.

Health expert Dr. Obaidullah Siddiqi told Al Jazeera Net, "The economic crisis on the one hand and infectious diseases such as cholera and measles on the other hand have caused pressure on the health system in Afghanistan, and there is a need for financial aid in the health sector, because most people suffer from economic problems and cannot bear the costs of the medicines.

It is reported that before the Taliban came to power, the World Bank was financing 2,231 health centers throughout Afghanistan, and with the departure of the American forces, the funding stopped and affected the health sector, and Health Ministry spokesman Javed Hajar told Al Jazeera Net, "The World Health Organization and the Child Protection Organization (UNICEF) agreed to grant Financial aid for the health sector and the equipment of 337 health centers, and for the first time since we came to power, we will get 150 million dollars from the World Bank.