On Wednesday, December 25, 2024, during a press conference at the Government Media and Information Center (GMIC), the Ministry of Public Health announced that 318 public hospitals would be constructed across the districts.
During the press conference, the Minister of Public Health, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali stated that it is a pleasure to announce that, in order to enhance the country’s health system, we are currently in the process of basic reforms in primary and secondary health services. Once the procedure is completed, access to health services in districts will be significantly increased. He further said that the good news for our fellow citizens is that, based on the directive of the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, His Excellency Amirul Momineen (may Allah protect him), the budget for the construction of 318 public hospitals across the districts has been approved.
According to the minister, the new hospitals will create job opportunities for a total of 27 thousand professional and administrative employees, and the recruitment will be carried out through a transparent procedure. Moreover, the minister added that so far, out of over 400 districts, only 93 districts have hospitals.
The officials stated that previously significant attention was not paid to health services across the districts and current health services are not responding to people’s needs. They mentioned that according to surveys conducted, 72% of people do not have access to primary and secondary health services in the districts, while they go to centers and health facilities in provinces for health problems. Therefore, it is essential to increase health services across the districts to address people’s health issues.
Additionally, the ministry officials emphasized that we are committed to bringing fundamental reforms to the health sector. Based on the new policy, we strive to significantly improve the quality of services. They added that the construction of new public hospitals aims to provide standard health services to people in remote areas, along with facilitating access to health services.