The World Health Organization expressed grave concern about healthcare access in Afghanistan on Friday, as US soldiers prepare to leave the war-torn country.
“It’s a really serious scenario, and it’s very fluid right now,” said Rick Brennan, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean area, emergency director.
“We are definitely concerned about the loss in access to healthcare,” he continued, speaking via video link from Cairo to media in Geneva.
As US soldiers continue to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban claimed control of 85 percent of the country on Friday, including a major border crossing with Iran.
The Taliban announced that militants had seized the border town of Islam Qala, completing an arc of land stretching from the Iranian border to the Chinese border, only hours after US President Joe Biden gave a vehement defence of the pullout.
Brennan claimed that some healthcare workers had gone because of security concerns, but that others had returned.
“Right now, it’s a mixed picture,” he remarked.
According to Brennan, the WHO has no direct connections or dialogue with the Taliban.
However, he claimed the UN agency had received pleas from several Taliban-controlled districts for it to “remain to ensure the continuation of health services.”
He emphasized that the WHO, particularly its polio vaccination route, had previously been able to stay and offer services under challenging circumstances.
The latest turmoil in Afghanistan comes as the country grapples with a number of problems, including a devastating third wave of Covid-19 infections, and low vaccination rates, with fewer than 4% of the population inoculated.
