In the solar year 1402, the health sector in Afghanistan was not free from challenges.

The scarcity of medical equipment, the discontinuation of aid from some global institutions, the launch of polio vaccination campaigns, and the construction of hospitals are among the significant issues in 1402.

This year, six positive cases of polio were recorded, prompting 12 vaccination campaigns across the country, resulting in millions of children being vaccinated.

Shrafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said, "In the solar year 1402, six positive cases of polio were recorded in the country, but only in the eastern region, mainly because of immigrants from Pakistan and internally displaced people, along with other challenges."

On the 23rd of Hamal (solar calendar), the World Health Organization announced that in 2023, approximately 17.6 million people in Afghanistan would need humanitarian health aid; however, the Ministry of Public Health stated that this number could be higher than the estimate provided by the World Health Organization.

The Ministry of Public Health spokesperson said, "Afghanistan's population is close to 40 million, and it is inevitable that among them there are sick people. The 17.6 million figure is an estimate; the needs of the patients might exceed this."

On the 12th of Saur (solar calendar), the Ministry of Public Health announced that female doctors could not register for the ministry's specialization exam, raising concerns about the reduction of female doctors and the increase in maternal and infant mortality rates in the country.

Najm Sama Shefajo, head of the Afghan Women's Medical Association, told TOLOnews, "A few years later, we will see a worse tragedy, and many mothers in Afghanistan will be lost. Afghanistan already has the highest maternal mortality rate in Asia, and it will significantly increase."

On the 2nd of Jawza (solar calendar), the Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern in the organization's annual report about the increase in polio cases in some countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, stating that the organization is committed to eradicating the disease from countries that are struggling with it.

“So far this year, there have been three reported cases of wild polio virus, including one from Pakistan and two from Afghanistan just last week. WHO and our partners remain steadfastly committed to finishing the job of consigning polio to history,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On the 21st of Jawza (solar calendar), the Afghanistan section of the World Health Organization announced the establishment of 37 centers for polio virus detection across Afghanistan, and on the 19th of Dalwa, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and global aid agencies, the first polio virus laboratory aimed at eradicating the disease in the country was inaugurated in Kabul.

Qalandar Ebad, Acting Minister of Public Health, said, "For the year 2024, we have set a major goal to completely eradicate polio from Afghanistan."

Hamed Jafari, Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Polio Programme, said, "It is very important that the two countries work together and coordinate with each other. These two countries cannot achieve this success alone; they must succeed together, as Qalandar Ebad mentioned. Since polio exists in these two countries, they must proceed with coordination to be able to eradicate polio in both countries. The coordination between the two countries should not only be in terms of vaccination but now also at the laboratory level."

On the 28th of Asad (solar calendar), the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that due to a lack of funds, it would cancel financial support for 25 hospitals in Afghanistan in two phases.

Shrafat Zaman Amarkhil, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said, "We pay the salaries of all employees of these 25 hospitals that provide health services from our ministry's budget, and we supply whatever medicines and materials are needed for the diagnostic section from the internal budget."

This year, several reconstruction and construction projects of some hospitals also began by the Ministry of Public Health, among which was the reconstruction and modernization project of the Jamhuriat Hospital, valued at more than four billion Afghanis.

Qalandar Ebad, Acting Minister of Public Health, said, "Four billion dollars have been allocated to this project, of which we will spend three hundred and seventeen million on the construction part of this hospital, and approximately two billion and six hundred and seventy million will be spent on purchasing medical equipment for this hospital."

Throughout the year, the Acting Minister of Public Health had five trips to various countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, and Malaysia, where during his trip to Qatar, he met with representatives of various countries and sought the comprehensive cooperation of the international community in the health sector of the country, and during his trip to Malaysia, he reported in an interview with a Malaysian media that more than 150,000 women are active in the health sector in Afghanistan.

The Acting Minister of Public Health said, "150,000 women are working in the health sector, which is a significant number. Under the previous government, this number of women did not work. We employ women who have experience in various sectors in the health sector. We have institutes for nursing, midwifery, and also various educational programs. We are not opposed to women's rights. Where women are needed, we keep the door open for them because women are an important part of our society. It is very difficult to manage society without women."

On the 2nd of Dalwa (solar calendar), the specialty completion exam was held for obtaining 465 positions from more than six thousand doctors, including twelve hundred female doctors.

Haider Omar, head of the Specialization Completion Program of the Ministry of Public Health, stated that these doctors participated in this training from across the country for the 465 announced positions in various medical fields.

This year, various aids were also provided in the health sector.

Japan, by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Afghanistan section of the World Health Organization, provided nearly seven million dollars to the Antani and Afghan-Japan hospitals, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) provided more than one million dollars for providing services to mothers and children in Bamyan province to Afghanistan.

Shamim Mehrzad, a doctor, said, "Access to health services for mothers and children in villages is very limited. Such aids can be life-saving and constructive for mothers and children. If managed properly, it can prevent the death of many mothers and children in villages."

The Medical Council of Afghanistan, despite establishing its offices in six zones and amidst all the ups and downs and concerns about the lack of female doctors, conducted two rounds of licensing exams for the Medical Council of Afghanistan from more than eleven thousand applicants; however, without the presence of female doctors.

It remains to be seen whether the number of female doctors will increase in the solar year 1403 and to what extent the challenges of this sector will be resolved.