On Thursday, May 14, 2020, the "General Assembly to Fight Coronavirus Crisis in Herat" held a virtual roundtable discussion, "Public Health Management: Afghanistan's Needs and Realities". This program was part of the series of roundtables by the Assembly to discuss different aspects of the Coronavirus. Dr. Khushal Nabizada, Kabul Public Health Administration Director, Abdul Hakim Tamana, Herat Public Health Administration Director, Hakimullah Saleh, Head of Afghan-Japan Hospital, and Dauod Eltaf, Emergency Coordinator of World Health Organization Afghanistan were the speakers of the program. The event was moderated by Abdul Basir Azimi, university Professor.
Dr. Nabizada the first speaker said that the Ministry of Public Health has added a new department at the ministry's structure to work on planning, service delivery and capacity building, due to coherent and extensive work to combat COVID-19. According to Nabizada, there are 12 mobile teams in Kabul province, along with 15 COVID-19 diagnostic centers, to identify active cases. He added that the challenges facing the effective fight against Corona are: The complex bureaucratic system of government, different perceptions of Corona in the society, the concerns and fears of health workers about getting infected with the virus, as well as managing people's expectations.
Dr. Tamana, the next speaker addressed the challenges in the struggles against the Corona Crisis. He said that Herat was carrying a heavier burden because the virus first spread there. He said that one of the most important challenges of the Corona Crisis is the bureaucratic system and the interference of responsibilities among different sectors. He said the lack of social trust in following health principles was another challenge for the Herat Public Health Department. He also said that the main root of this distrust goes back to four major issues. 1. Ambiguity in roles and responsibilities 2. Lack of attention to religious scholars 3. Politicization of Corona struggles and 4. Lack of attention to social networks for public awareness.
Dr. Eltaf spoke about responsibilities of Public Health System and factors that ruin Public Health System in Afghanistan. He said that the main tasks of public health administration are to prevent disease, promote health and maintain public health through accepted global methods. In his view, the main reason for the failure of public health system in Afghanistan is the war over the past few decades; which has disrupted the basic health and social services system. In his last remarks, he said that the health system is not only the duty of public health administration in the country, but also includes all governmental, non-governmental and volunteer institutions.
Dr. Saleh, final speaker said that at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Afghan-Japan hospital faced lack of health employees, which currently has been solved. At the present time, the center has a daily testing capacity of more than 300 people, but our facilities are incomparable in comparison with developed countries. According to Saleh, people's misconceptions about Corona, widespread insecurity in different areas, as well as the lack of availability and existence of diagnostic centers in remote areas are the factors that have led to low statistics in Afghanistan.