Noor Jalal Jalali, the acting public health minister, stated in a meeting in Kabul that 72 percent of district residents do not have access to secondary health services.

The acting Minister of Public Health also mentioned the commencement of construction work for public hospitals in 318 districts across the country. He stated that with the construction of these 318 hospitals, an additional 10,000 beds would be made available for the treatment of patients in the country, creating employment opportunities for 27,000 individuals.

According to Jalali, there are currently 13,000 treatment beds available nationwide.

In this meeting, Noor Jalal Jalali added: “A special budget for the construction of public hospitals in 318 districts has been approved by the Amir-ul-Momineen of Afghanistan. The legal and initial procedures have been completed, and construction work on the hospitals will practically begin.”

Jalali further stated that each of these 318 hospitals would have five medical departments.

The acting Minister of Public Health added: “Job opportunities will be provided for 27,000 professional and administrative individuals, with the recruitment process to be carried out under a well-organized plan and a transparent mechanism.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hassan Ghiasi, Deputy Minister of Planning and Health Development at the Ministry of Public Health, rejected the shortage of female health workers in the country, stating that over 30,000 midwives are awaiting job opportunities.

Deputy Minister of Policy and Development, said: “We have more than 30,000 midwives who are not part of the system and are waiting for opportunities to work. We assure our sisters that in the new centers, while maintaining all Sharia and Islamic considerations, their expertise and knowledge will be utilized in appropriate roles.”

Bakht Rahman Sharafat, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration of the Ministry, described the primary goal of building these hospitals as providing timely and high-quality services. He added that annually, due to delays in diagnosis, 20,000 people in the country suffer from various types of cancer.

This comes as statistics provided by the Ministry of Public Health indicate that out of 400 districts, only 93 districts in the country have hospitals.