More than one million people affected by respiratory diseases have been referred to the health centers across the country in the past month, the Ministry of Public Health said.

Without providing the exact figures, the MoPH meanwhile stressed that the number of patients compared to the previous year has surged.

“In the first month of 2024, 1 million and 800,000 patients were referred to us who were complaining about their breathing,” Sharafat said.  

TOLOnews’ reporter Hadia Ziai reached out to one the private hospitals in Kabul, where she interviewed the patients struggling from respiratory diseases.

Wali Mohammad, 71, has been taken to Kabul from Nangarhar by his family. He has been bedridden for 15 days.

“I can’t breathe well. I use this instrument for breathing,” he said.

“It has been more than 15 days since he can’t breathe well. However, recently his breathing has improved,” said Noor Mohammad, son of Wali Mohammad.

This comes as the World Health Organization reported that since 01 Jan 2024, a total of 160,756 ARI-pneumonia cases and 383 associated deaths were reported from 34 provinces.

“Out of the total cases, 101,189 (62.9%) were under-five children and 79,277 (49.3%) were females,” the report said. 

The MoPH meanwhile provided details that around 8 million people will be affected by respiratory diseases across the country in 2023.