Since Saturday 7 October, Herat Province in western Afghanistan has been hit by three powerful earthquakes as well as innumerable aftershocks of varying strengths. At the Herat Regional Hospital, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) runs regular activities in the paediatric department, we donated mass casualty kits and erected a total of 10 tents in the hospital compound to … Read more
Western Afghanistan has experienced three 6.3-magnitude earthquakes and many aftershocks in less than two weeks in October. Together, the quakes and aftershocks have killed more than 2,000 people. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is supporting Herat Regional Hospital, which has received hundreds of injured patients since the first quake. How MSF supports Herat Regional … Read more
Kabul, 6 February 2023 – A dysfunctional health system, widespread poverty, and increased restrictions placed on women are at the heart of the current humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, according to a new report published by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today. Policymakers, donors and local authorities must urgently focus on strengthening primary medical care at district … Read more
The future of female patients and health workers in Afghanistan is being threatened by the recent decree issued by the Ministry of Economy prohibiting women from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Though health workers, including MSF staff, are currently exempted from the ban, there is no formal assurance that they will be able to continue … Read more
After months of continuous restrictions placed on the female population of Afghanistan, limitations placed on their participation in everyday life, access to education, and most recently even the right to work for non-governmental organisations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) strongly condemns the Islamic Emirate’s erasure of women from social life in the country. “More than 51% … Read more
Jawahira was referred to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) tuberculosis (TB) hospital in Kandahar earlier this year from a clinic in Daikundi, central Afghanistan. “I used to visit private clinics, but instead of giving me TB medication, they usually just prescribed me painkillers,” she says. The cost of searching out treatment also took its toll. … Read more
MSF staff continues to treat high numbers of patients for a wide range of health conditions in Afghanistan. In September, we assisted over 3,758 deliveries, admitted 905 severely malnourished children to our facilities, and provided ambulatory nutrition treatment to 989 children, pregnant women or women who had recently given birth. And while our main focus … Read more
Following the earthquake that struck Khost and Paktika provinces in Afghanistan on the night of 21-22 June, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) sent teams made up of medical and logistical staff to the worst-affected areas. Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed, over a thousand wounded, and many homes have been destroyed and damaged. In Bermal, … Read more
Her name was Tahera*. She had been brought to the MSF-supported Herat Regional Hospital the day before by her parents; with a red, blotchy rash spreading down her little body. After being assessed by our medical team she was admitted to our measles intensive care unit where we already had close to 50 patients although, … Read more
Zainab didn’t sleep well last night. The lights and the incessant beeping of the machines in the intensive care unit would keep anyone awake. But mainly she couldn’t sleep because she was worried about her one-year-old son, Takberullah. He also had a restless, irritable night as he was having trouble breathing until the doctor gave … Read more