Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a report on Wednesday stated that the residents of remote villages in the central province of Bamiyan do not have access to necessary healthcare services.
According to the organization, after the Taliban’s takeover of the country, it has become “increasingly difficult” for villagers across Afghanistan to access basic health services.
MSF has opened eight new health facilities in Bamiyan province. The organization’s report stresses that the province is 90% mountainous, and home to the historically marginalized and still poor Hazara ethnic minority who live in small, remote villages without adequate access to primary healthcare.
Due to the gender-based restrictions imposed by the Taliban, women experience massive barriers to accessing healthcare services. MSF reports that “in Bamyan, an estimated 40% of new mothers delivered their babies at home without professional assistance in 2022.”
According to the report, the organization has provided over 1,200 prenatal and postnatal consultations, and more than 3,400 pediatric consultations, screened nearly 2,000 children for malnutrition and referred 75 patients to Bamiyan Provincial Hospital for treatment.
The organization further stated that it plans to expand its services in the region for the second half of 2023.
Bamiyan province is located in central Afghanistan and it is considered as one of the most deprived provinces of the country. In addition to healthcare services, the residents of Bamiyan province do not have access to many other basic services.
