KABUL (SW) – Hundreds of cancer patients under treatment at a Pakistani charity hospital have missed on chemotherapy due to the lockdown.
The relatives of a number of these patients are worried. They told Salam Watandar that after closing of the borders, they have not been able to take their patients abroad for treatment.
According to them, it is not possible to treat these patients in Afghanistan, and the closure of air and land routes have worsened the health of these patients.
These patients also include those with leukemia, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and others.
Doctors say that cancer patients are treated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis at the discretion of the specialist at regular intervals, and at least once a month patients should see a doctor and receive chemotherapy.
According to health reports, two cancer patients died within a week due to the delayed chemotherapy.
But, Najibullah Samadi, head of cancer department at the Ministry of Health, said there is a facility for cancer patients in the Jamhoriat hospital and at the Children's hospital in Kabul.
However, relatives of cancer patients are urging the government, especially Afghan Foreign Ministry to ensure their problems are resolved.
They warned that if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reach an agreement to transfer patients to Pakistan, it is possible that more than 50 percent of these patients will die.
We also wanted to have the perspective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard, but we did not succeed despite consecutive calls
ENDS
