Local Taliban health officials in the southern Afghan province of Zabul said that at least 600 people have fallen ill with tuberculosis in the past few months. Dr. Abdul Hakim Hakimi, the Taliban Director of Public Health in Zabul province told the media that the prevalence of tuberculosis has “unfortunately” increased in several villages and districts in Zabul province.
The Taliban health official further added that hundreds of people have contracted the disease in remote places of the province, stating that their treatment continues. A clinic for the treatment of tuberculosis has been established by Doctors Without Borders in the province, where scores of patients are being treated, according to Zabul’s director of public health.
The tuberculosis-hit Zabul, according to local health officials, has also recorded cases of measles and acute watery diarrhea, mostly affecting children.
Although many children in Zabul have recovered from measles, several of them have reportedly died. Currently, Afghanistan is dealing with various disease outbreaks, including Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), measles, Congo fever, dengue fever, and Covid-19, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.
While the financially strapped Taliban dominate the nation, Afghanistan continues to rely on foreign assistance, and international humanitarian aid, and the Afghan people are affected by the Taliban’s political isolation and international sanctions.—Tolo News
