Dr Ayaz Safi, Lecturer in the School of Life Sciences, was interviewed by TOLOnews about the public health crisis in Afghanistan and potential solutions to combat it.
In the interview, Dr Safi spoke about Afghanistan, and said: “The public health system in Afghanistan has improved since last 21 years. For instance, 20 years ago people had to travel for at least 3 hours to access the health clinic. Whereas now health clinics, hospitals and General practitioners are accessible within 5-10 minutes of walking distance even in rural areas of the country.
“The public health system was running and available for people to access until Taliban takeover in August 2021. It is the current circumstances that has negatively impacted the system to either collapsed or paused because of the economic problems and the stoppage of aid from forging countries.”
He added: “I think it is now time for the current leaders to stop blaming the previous government and start taking action to save lives. If consultants, doctors, nurses and midwives have fled or are fleeing from the country, then there is a fundamental problem that the current leaders must address and assure them of their safety, and provide them with the necessaries to continue their jobs without interruption and fear.”
Listen to the full interview on YouTube.
