KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The World Health Organization (WHO) says that an alarming 50% of people in Afghanistan are grappling with psychological distress, which has severely affected productivity as well as quality of life in the country.
At a meeting held on the sidelines of the 67th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Austria on Monday, March 25, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighted that individuals impacted by psychological distress are vulnerable to mental health and substance use disorders. However, as he said, only limited support is accessible through the country’s health and social care system.
In collaboration with UNODC, the EU, and the government of Japan, WHO organized a high-level meeting titled “Deepening Crisis: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Paralyzing Afghan Society” to discuss the pressing challenges around mental health and substance use disorders faced by millions in Afghanistan.
According to a statement released on Monday, the panel members emphasized the urgent need for concerted action to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding people with drug use disorders and mental health problems.
“Obstacles include the limited availability of quality and complete prevention and treatment services; insufficient specialized and competent health staff; and considerable funding gaps,” they said.
The UN says that even before the Taliban’s takeover of the country, one in two people, predominantly women, suffered from psychological distress.
Yet, the situation has notably worsened because of the Taliban’s increased restrictions, especially concerning the fundamental rights of women and girls in the past two years.
At the meeting, Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargé d’Affaires to Afghanistan, underscored the importance of investing in mental health and addressing drug use disorders in the country. She emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to maximize their impact on the health and well-being of the millions of affected people in Afghanistan.
“Our interventions need to be evidence-based and grounded in good practices and lessons learned. Here I stress the critical role that civil society and local communities play to ensure that solutions are not only tailored to the specific contexts and needs and are culturally appropriate but are also, in the long run, more sustainable,” she stressed.
On the ground, however, the implementation of any intervention could prove challenging. From the one hand, international funding for humanitarian aid, the country’s lifeline under the Taliban, is rapidly dwindling. On the other hand, the Taliban’s restrictive policies have almost completely removed the space for civil society and local communities to organize and collaborate.
Mr Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director of the Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at UNODC, emphasized: “Supporting poppy farmers with alternative livelihood options, alongside robust, evidence-based public health measures for treating people with drug use disorders, is imperative to achieve sustainable solutions for Afghanistan.”
While the Taliban claims that their ban on drug cultivation and production has been effective, reporting a significant reduction in poppy cultivation, Afghanistan still stands as one of the world’s largest producers of narcotics.
According to a UN report, roughly 4 million people, accounting for approximately 10% of the population, are drug users.
The meeting, according to the WHO statement, concluded with a call to action, urging stakeholders to collaborate to implement evidence-based solutions and advocate for transformative changes to support mental health and substance use disorder treatment and care services in Afghanistan.
