Khogyani Residents Complain About Inadequate Healthcare Services

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): A number of residents of Khogyani district of southern Ghazni province say the only one health centre in the district cannot meet the needs of the whole population of the district.

However, officials assure that construction of standardised facilities will address the healthcare challenge of the people.

Haji Mohammad Arif, a tribal elder from Khogyani, told Pajhwok Afghan News that only one health centre was operational in the district, which lacked the capacity to serve the entire population and was struggling with a shortage of facilities.

“The problems we face in the district are that we have only one clinic for the whole area. It has no inpatient care, no operating theatre, no laboratory, and medicines are scarce. We are forced to take our patients to the provincial capital,” he explained.

He added that the district's roads were also in poor condition and that some patients died en route before reaching treatment centres.

He urged the government and relevant organisations to address the district's healthcare challenges as a matter of urgency.

Another tribal elder, Haji Rozi Gul, also voiced concerns over inadequate health facilities, saying:“There are no proper medicines, staff or facilities for patients here, and even the road to transfer them to the city is unsuitable.”

District Administrative Chief Mullah Mohammad Naeem Abuta confirmed that only one health centre was currently operational in Khogyani.

He said that in the past, one or two mobile health units run by aid agencies had been active, but their services ceased after US sanctions on some organisations.

The existing centre, he noted, lacked specialist doctors and faced shortages of medicines and other essentials, leaving it unable to meet local needs.

He added that the issue had been shared with provincial officials and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), who had promised to provide solutions.

Social affairs analyst Sher Ahmad Afghan said that during past conflicts, the former government had paid little attention to people's health problems. Now that security has been restored, he argued, the current authorities should give serious priority to addressing these issues.

He stressed:“Not only Khogyani, but many other districts of Ghazni are facing similar challenges. The government must focus on improving healthcare in all remote areas to relieve people of such problems.”

Meanwhile, Provincial Public Health Director Mohammad Zarak Zhirak said his department was striving to provide healthcare services in the provincial capital and districts to meet public needs, noting that improvements had been made compared to previous years.

He said Khogyani, unlike many other districts, was relatively close to the provincial capital.

“We have three to five health centres in Khogyani district, including a CCP health facility with a surgeon, X-ray and ultrasound services, and a female MD doctor. Our aim is to gradually establish a general hospital building and centre in each district,” he explained.

He expressed hope that work on establishing such centres across all districts of the country would begin soon.

Without giving full details, he confirmed that Khogyani had four to five clinics in total.

Khogyani district has around 110 villages, large and small, with a population in thousands.

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