- Title: Kabul's COVID-19 hospitals concerned over medical supplies after Taliban control
- Date: 17th September 2021
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (SEPTEMBER 16, 2021) (REUTERS) AMBULANCES OUTSIDE HOSPITAL COVID-19 PATIENT ON HOSPITAL BED OXYGEN SUPPLY MACHINE PATIENT DRIP CANNULA ATTACHED TO PATIENT'S HAND COVID-19 PATIENT AND RELATIVE PEOPLE SITTING FOR CHECK UP MALE NURSE AND PATIENT VARIOUS OF MEDICS IN FULL PROTECTIVE GEAR PATIENT (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) DIRECTOR OF AFGHAN JAPAN HOSPITAL, ZALMI RISHTIN, SAYING: "Before the changes (Taliban takeover) we had supplies for one quarter. We had brought medicines and the stock was full, and we are issuing medicines from the same stock. In the past, we would purchase medicine whenever there is shortage, but for now we are just using medicines from the same stock." MEDIC IN PROTECTIVE GEAR AND NURSE MEDIC CHECKING PATIENT'S READING SCREEN SHOWING READINGS OXYGEN CYLINDER (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) UNIDENTIFIED CORONAVIRUS PATIENT SAYING: "Our country is a poor country. We need medicine, different things - almost everything. If someone will come and give us something and the patients' problems will be resolved with Allah's mercy. This is what I request for." PEOPLE WALKING OUTSIDE HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN BAZAR SHOPKEEPER SELLING FACE MASKS FACE MASKS (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) SHOPKEEPER SELLING FACE MASKS, NAZEER, SAYING: "People would buy masks earlier but they don't buy anymore. We hear about the fourth wave of coronavirus in China, Pakistan and Iran but people don't protect themselves anymore." MEDICAL AND GENERAL STORE VARIOUS OF MEDICAL AND GENERAL ITEMS STACKED IN SHOWCASE PEOPLE WALKING IN BAZAR
- Embargoed: 1st October 2021 06:11
- Keywords: Afghanistan Covid-19 Kabul hospital
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001EV3VGHZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hospital officials in Kabul on Thursday (September 16) were worried about medical supplies, especially for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, as the Taliban remains in control of Afghanistan.
Director of the Afghan Japan Hospital in Kabul, Zalmi Rishtin, said the facility was using medicine from the existing stock and he was unsure about getting new medical supplies anytime soon.
"Before the changes (Taliban takeover) we had supplies for one quarter. We had brought medicines and the stock was full, and we are issuing medicines from the same stock. In the past, we would purchase medicine whenever there is shortage, but for now we are just using medicines from the same stock," he said.
Hundreds of medical facilities in Afghanistan are at risk of imminent closure because donors who provide the financing are not allowed to deal with the new Taliban government, a World Health Organization (WHO) official told Reuters last Monday (September 6).
More than 3.5 million Afghans were already displaced in a country that is battling drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. As displaced huddle in camps, aid agencies were warning that the overcrowded conditions could bring a new surge in coronavirus cases.
"People would buy masks earlier but they don't buy anymore. We hear about the fourth wave of coronavirus in China, Pakistan and Iran but people don't protect themselves anymore," said Nazeer, a shopkeeper selling face masks.
Less than four percent of the Afghan population is vaccinated, according to UNICEF. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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