Officials and residents of Kabul on Tuesday complained about the lack of medicine in Kabul’s pharmacies, saying many pharmaceutical companies have recently stopped operating, and importing medicine is difficult. 

The head of the Afghanistan Medicine Service Union, Assadullah Kakar, said that companies have stopped operating due to a lack of raw materials for producing medicine. “Some companies stopped, there are no raw materials, the stock of required medicine is declining in the bazaar, more companies will be closed if the ongoing situation continues,” Kakar said.

“I could not find the medicine that I need for my patient, I went to many pharmacies. If it is available, its price is too high,” said Mohammad Ismail, a resident of Kabul.

Meanwhile, the owners of pharmacies stated that following the halt of imports, medicine prices are on the rise in the capital. “since medicine is a necessity, people need it and are asking for it, flights from India and Pakistan to Afghanistan are stopped, this has affected the problem,” said Hashmat, owner of a pharmacy in Kabul.

Based to the Ministry of Public Health, Afghanistan imports over 90% of its medicine from Pakistan, India, Turkey and Bangladesh.

Following the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s government, Afghanistan’s health sector is on the brink of collapse, a situation that international organizations have confirmed.