The head of the internal medicine department at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital, Mohammad Aref Hassanzai, has stated that respiratory diseases among children have increased recently, with 20 to 30 children hospitalized daily due to respiratory illnesses.

The respiratory and pneumonia ward of this hospital is currently witnessing the treatment of four to five children in a single bed.

The head of the internal medicine department told TOLOnews: “We are experiencing a significant increase in respiratory illnesses these days. In the ward where respiratory patients are admitted, we have fewer than 20 beds, but about 75 patients are currently hospitalized.”

“If a child in a household is suffering from pneumonia or any other respiratory illness, they must be kept separate from healthy children,” said Zabihullah Darmal, a doctor.

Meanwhile, some attendants who have come to the capital from other provinces complain about the shortage of hospital beds.

Abeda, who brought her five-month-old child from Sar-e-Pul to Kabul for treatment, said: “The child was on oxygen in Sar-e-Pul. We brought him here, but since the house was cold, his breathing worsened, and eventually, we brought him to this hospital.”

Sultana, who brought her two-month-old child suffering from pneumonia from Kunduz to Kabul, also expressed concern about the high number of children sharing a single bed.

“There are four or five patients in one bed. Our request is that each bed should be for one child because some diseases can spread from one child to another,” Sultana said.

According to doctors, besides cold weather and air pollution, poverty, unemployment, lack of hygiene, and failure to keep sick individuals away from children are among the reasons many children are suffering from respiratory diseases.