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Depression a leading cause of ill health and disability among Afghans – fighting stigma is key to recovery
WHO Country Representative Dr Richard Peeperkorn delivers a speech at the World Health Day eventKabul 9 April 2017 – The Ministry of Public Health and WHO celebrated World Health Day at an event held in Kabul today to increase awareness and mobilize action around depression, a common mental health disorder and the leading cause of ill health and...
Expert group commends Afghanistan’s tremendous progress in determined efforts to eradicate polio
H.E. Minister of Health Dr Feroz delivers a speech during the meetingKabul 6 April 2017 - The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on polio eradication convened in Kabul on 4-5 April to review Afghanistan’s progress in polio eradication and provide recommendations for further interventions and areas of focus to stop the circulation of wild poliovirus. The...
Over 8.9 million children to be vaccinated against polio and given vitamin A tablets in Afghanistan
Kabul, 27 March 2017 – The Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, together with WHO and UNICEF, has inaugurated the first round of National Immunization Days (NIDs) for polio eradication in 2017 in a ceremony held in Kabul. The campaign will start today in 31 provinces of Afghanistan with the aim to vaccinate over 8.9 million children under...
Tuberculosis burden increases in Afghanistan with over 60 000 new cases every year
Pharmacist dispenses medicines to TB patients at a Kabul hospitalKabul, 28 March 2017 – The burden of tuberculosis (TB) is increasing in Afghanistan, with an estimated 61 000 people infected annually, causing around 12 000 deaths every year. There has been an almost 20% increase in the number of TB cases detected last year, pointing not only to...
Government of Japan commits US$ 8.6 million to the fight against tuberculosis in Afghanistan
Mr. Takeshi Watanabe, Chief Representative of JICA Afghanistan, and Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Country Representative, sign a 3-year cooperation agreement to fight TB. Photo: Ministry of Public Health AfghanistanKabul 23 March 2017 – The Government of Japan pledged US$ 8.6 million to support the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) patients and...
Hospitals should never be a target, WHO reiterates
9 March 2017, Kabul, Afghanistan - WHO condemns yesterday’s brutal attack against Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, which led to the deaths of at least 30 Afghans, with dozens more injured. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, friends and colleagues, and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured. The neutrality of medical...
Afghan women leading the battle against polio
Sakina works as a polio campaign supervisor in Bamyan provinceKabul 8 March 2017 - Thousands of remarkable female vaccinators, supervisors, campaign coordinators, surveillance volunteers and social mobilizers play a critical role in Afghanistan’s efforts to eradicate polio. The progress the polio programme has witnessed in the past years would...
5.6 million children to be vaccinated against polio in high-risk areas
A child receives the oral polio vaccine. Photo: WHO/G.ElhamKabul 27 February 2017 - The Ministry of Public Health, together with WHO and UNICEF, launched today the second round of Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) campaign of 2017 in high-risk areas to vaccinate 5.6 million children under age of 5 against polio. The campaign will be...
Tracing every last virus: Afghanistan steps up surveillance to accelerate polio eradication
Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) focal point Dr Siddiqui examines a child at Mirwais Regional Hospital in Kandahar. Photo: WHO Afghanistan/S.RamoKabul 23 February 2017 – A strong surveillance system is the backbone of Afghanistan’s polio eradication effort. It ensures that every single poliovirus is detected and analysed, enabling a quick and...
Prevention is crucial for tackling Afghanistan’s cancer burden
Kabul 5 February 2017 – New guidance from WHO launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February) aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier. In Afghanistan, the prioritization of basic, high-impact and low-cost diagnosis and treatment services...
