Residents of remote areas in the Greshk district of Helmand province say they are facing serious problems due to the lack of healthcare and education services, and that some patients, especially women during childbirth lose their lives.

This area is the village of Seydan in Greshk district; a dusty and remote village far from the center, where hundreds of families live.

The locals are calling for access to health and education services.

“More than 650 families live here, but we have no health clinic. We take our emergency patients either to the center of Greshk or to the Zamboli clinic. We want a clinic to be built for us,” said Abdul Samad, a resident of Greshk district.

“We are in dire need of a health center and a school. We have no facilities at all. Help us so that we can have a more peaceful life,”Mohammad Masoom, another resident of Greshk district, remarked.

“We don’t have a school, and our children are deprived of education. We ask you to build a school for us,” stated Mohammad Qasim, a resident of this province.

“Many of our mothers die during childbirth because there is no health center here, and we are forced to transfer them to the center of Greshk,”  said Ahmadullah. 

Meanwhile, local officials in Helmand say efforts are underway to provide healthcare and education services in remote areas of the province.

“The residents of Seydan village in Greshk district are truly deserving. We are working to provide facilities for them so they can be relieved from problems in education and health sectors,” said Mohammad Qasim Riyadh, the spokesperson for the governor of Helmand.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Public Health had recently announced plans to build 30-bed hospitals in all districts of the country.