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Khost women lack access to lady doctors

Khost women lack access to lady doctors

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3 Dec 2013 - 17:28
Khost women lack access to lady doctors
author avatar
3 Dec 2013 - 17:28

KHOST CITY (PAN living in remote parts of southeastern Khost province have been complaining about the lack of essential healthcare services and their access to lady doctors.

The absence of lady doctors in health clinics in districts and ill-time time treatment of women are some of the problems facing women in remote parts.

While in the provincial capital, Khost City, the women’s chamber in the civil hospital has no enough lady doctors and facilities to cope with increasing number of female patients.

Kamila Akbari, the provincial women’s affairs department spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News no standard health facilities had so far been established in most districts and the available facilities lacked professional lady doctors and essential healthcare services.

She deplored the worst sufferers of the situation were pregnant women, who could not be delivered in-time to hospitals from remote areas.

“Health clinics are not well-equipped in districts, where lady doctors, nurses and midwives refuse to perform duty due to insecurity.”

Akbari said resolving health issues should be the government’s most top priority with focus on women’s health.

Nadia Bawari, head of the Women’s Non-Government Organization, said many health centres were operational in districts, but their healthcare services considered too much insufficient.

She said recently trained nurses could not deal with all health problems in women because they had not enough experience.

So far 150 females have completed a two-year nursing course in five phases over the past decade in Khost. But Bawari said the nurses trained were not competent enough.

“Under the law, nurses are not authorised to prescribe medicine to patients, but they do this as a matter of urgency. Such issues are existed in districts and also in the provincial capital.”

A woman, Zeba, asked the Ministry of Public Health to initiate necessary measures for resolving women healthcare issues in Khost.

She said Khost was in dire need of specialist doctors, who should be appointed in every district. “Our most patients are being taken to Pakistan. Going to Pakistan requires money and those who don’t have money are facing problems.”

Acting public health director Dr. Hidayatullah Hamidi confirmed women faced problems in accessing essential healthcare.

He said midwives had been appointed in a number of districts and there had been a shortage of lady doctors in Khost City. He confirmed lady doctors did not exist in districts, where women have been facing problems.

“We have 32 health centres in Khost City and districts, but all the facilities has not single MD lady doctor,” the health official said.

Hamidi said lady doctors were reluctant to perform duty in districts fearing their security. However, he said efforts were being made to resolve the issue.

He said the shortage of lady doctors in the provincial capital and districts would take time to be overcome.

There are one female specialist doctor, 18 midwives and four MD lady doctors working in the civil hospital in Khost City, but they have not been able to cope all the increasing number of patients.

Health Net, Inc. official in Afghanistan Dr. Mohammad Ghani Gharwal acknowledged they had not been able to reach out to all problems facing women in area of health. He said all required facilities for lady doctors had  been made available in a number of districts, but they still hesitated from doing job in districts.

“We are making efforts to resolve women’s health related problems in Khost with the passage of time and it is hoped the progress  would come.”

A Doctors without Borders-run health facility, which got operational last year in Khost City, has been providing services in mother-child healthcare.

Over the past 10 months, up to 10,000 childbirth cases have been handled at the well-equipped maternity hospital.

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