Officials at the Herat regional hospital said the hospital lacks medicine and medical equipment, and the shortage has resulted in many patients not receiving all the necessary healthcare.

According to officials, the hospital receives about 1,500 patients a day, and more than 250 of these become inpatients.

Every day, 80 surgeries take place and more than 250 medical examinations are performed at the hospital.

“Some organizations, like the World Health Organization (WHO), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF) helped us in the past. Now, we provide services to people but we face a lack of medicine and equipment," said Mohammad Aref Jalali, head of the hospital.

Hospital officials say they have not received any funds from the finance ministry, adding that the hospital is dependent on international organizations.

Doctors at the Herat regional hospital asked the caretaker Ministry of Public Health to fund the hospital and to provide them with medical equipment. Farhad Afzali, a doctor, said: “The hospital does not have the budget right now. We face a lack of medicine and other problems.”

Relatives of patients complained that they are forced to buy medicine from pharmacies or to go to private medical centers for medical examinations.

Abdullah, a Herat resident, said: “We buy medicine from outside the hospital. The hospital does not have enough medicine.”

Ahmad Rezaie, another Herat resident, said: “when the doctor prescribes medicine or performs an examination, the patients have to buy the medicine from private pharmacies and get the examinations in private hospitals.”

Meanwhile, officials of the health department in Maidan Wardak said the province is going to face medical challenges in the future as the World Bank’s aid was recently cut.

Officials in Maidan Wardak added that only the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) is providing health services to the province now. The World Bank was one of the key donors to the health sector, and its aid has been stopped recently in Afghanistan.