Kunar health officials given a month to shape up

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz on Sunday visited the civil hospital in eastern Kunar province and set provincial health officials a month-long deadline to streamline their affairs.

Feroz visited the main hospital in Asadabad, the provincial capital, inspected various wards and evaluated facilities there before addressing a gathering at the Public Health Directorate.

In his address, the minister called the hospital’s administration weak and said patients were offered substandard healthcare services amid no care for cleanliness.  He set the provincial public health officials a month-long deadline to streamline the hospital’s affairs.

The minister also pointed to the hospital building’s dilapidated condition, but did not make a clear promise to reconstruct it. However, he said, he would make efforts to improve healthcare services in Kunar on a priority basis.

Addressing the gathering, religious scholar Maulvi Najibullah Haqyar urged the visiting minister to give more attention to the health sector in the province. He said the majority of Kunar residents were poor and they could not afford travelling to other provinces or abroad for treatment.

“The capacity of the provincial civil hospital’s building is not more than a district hospital. You the minister should approve a new building for the facility.”

Public Health Director Dr. Asadullah Fazli acknowledged weaknesses in the provincial healthcare provision system, but in the same breath claimed many achievements had been made in the sector so far.

He said there were 48 clinics across Kunar, each having a modern building and ambulance service.  He said nothing about the deadline set by the minister. The hospital’s building was not in good condition and the ministry should construct a new one, he suggested.

Acting Governor Shujaul Mulk Jalala said Kunar being a border province often witnessed a number of security incidents and thus needed a well-equipped hospital. The hospital served civilians, government officials and security personnel for their treatment.

ma/mud

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