KABUL (SW) – The Kyrgyz, an ethnic minority of Afghanistan, who live in Wakhan district of Badakhshan, are yet to get the basic needs of life provided to them in this remote corner of Afghanistan.
Sultan Mohammad is a Kyrgyz citizen in the Pamir region of Badakhshan, who told Salam Watandar about the problems of the community. He said that patients in these areas are sometimes forced to walk at night to reach a treatment center.
“Because of traffic, we are facing many problems, because of these waters, we solve our problems in this area by using horses and other animals. There have been days when we brought the patient at night, he was on the way through the flood and the patient waited until the morning.”
According to Kyrgyz citizens, lack of access to health facilities has increased the death rate among them. Abdulhaq, another Kyrgyz citizen, told Salam Watandar that at least half of Kyrgyz mothers and babies die due to lack of access to health facilities.
“Now we have problems in terms of progress, life, everything. If 10 mothers give birth, four or five will remain and the rest will be lost. Or out of 10 children born in a year, two or three remain, the rest are lost.”
It should be mentioned that many reports have been spread about the bad situation and challenging life of the inhabitants of the Pamirs, but these hardworking citizens of Afghanistan are still struggling with deadly deprivations.
On the other hand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Zhanbek Kolobaev, has expressed his concern about the situation of Kyrgyz in the Pamirs of Badakhshan in a press conference last Thursday.
According to the foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, this ethnic minority of Afghanistan is now facing diseases that, according to unconfirmed reports, have caused their mass death.
“There are reports of mass deaths of Kyrgyz in Pamir due to the possibility of contracting a virus, and the Kyrgyz Embassy in Afghanistan is investigating this issue.”
Officials of the Ministry of Borders and Tribes, said recently that 16 people have died due to an unknown disease.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the spokesperson of this ministry, told Salam Watandar: “There are many problems, for example, cold air and lack of oxygen are among the problems. Similarly, recently, an unknown disease has increased among them, our representative and the head of border affairs and tribes reported that nearly 16 people, including children and women, have died in this area, and many others are infected. ”
Officials of the Ministry of Public Health, however, do not confirm the death of Pamir residents due to a specific virus and emphasized that a number of them died due to excessive cold weather.
ENDS
