Dalil: Nearing contract on Jamhoriat hospital costs

KABUL Minister Dr. Suraya Dalil on Tuesday said her ministry was nearing an agreement with the Agha Khan Foundation on assisting operation costs at the Chinese-rebuilt Jamhoriat Hospital for next 15 years.

In 2009, the new building was completed by China at a cost of $25 million. It has beds for about 350 people and is equipped with latest facilities, including ultrasound, CT scan, blood filtration machines, x-ray machines, oxygen, encephalography and facilities.

In 2010, the government said it could not open the new building as there were not enough people trained to use the new equipment and a lack of fund to keep the facility running.

But Dalil on Tuesday told reporters that talks on an agreement with Agha Khan Foundation officials to run the facility for next 15 years were in final stages.

She said assessing the construction’s quality at resisting to earthquakes and a survey on services at the hospital had been behind the delay in reaching an agreement with the Afghan Khan Foundation.

“We are almost concluding an agreement with the Agha Khan Foundation to run the hospital for 15 years, but two things — free treatment to poor patients and discount in fee — remain unsolved,” Dalil said, adding a final decision would come from the Cabinet.

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