PAN, January 25, 2009

Paktika lacks female health care services

He blamed that a number of ministers were even unaware of the departments working under their respective ministries in the province.

Obaidullah Sarrozawal

Dr. Daud Nazari, head of surgical in Jamhooriat Hospital, after arguing with Amin Fatimi said angrily: "Actually I don’t know how he dares to state in front of the media that we have provided everything to the hospital through the ministry, our patients have no difficulties."-Tolo T.V. (Jan. 14, 2009)

Public health officials of southeastern Paktika province informed there was no female doctor in provincial capital and in over 14 districts of the province while all residents of the province were suffering difficulties due to lack of staffs in health section.

Dr. Toryali deputy health director of the lawless province addressing a bimonthly meeting of government departments said inhabitants of his province were suffering difficulties due to the lack professional doctors despite improvements in the province.

The province has only three hospitals and 23 healthcares and has a surgical and an internal medicine doctor, he said, adding accommodation for doctors in his province was another problem which forced doctors not to serve in the province bordering Pakistan.

Dr. Abdullah Fahim, spokesman for Ministry of Public Health MoPH has also confirmed lack of female doctors in the lawless province. Insecurity was another obstacle that forced female doctors not to serve in volatile province, Fahim remarked.

Majority of ministries ignore the remote province which recently became precarious, the deputy governor Abdul Malik Tani blamed. Only five ministers have visited this province during the passage of five years since I started my duty here, he said.

He blamed that a number of ministers were even unaware of the departments working under their respective ministries in the province.

There were also few developments in this province despite the problems they had suffered, he continued, all government departments had no buildings and only a few had got new buildings.

Tani also praised support of USAID and the Local Governance Capacity Development LGCD program which has trained government staffs by technical consultants. Director of economic department Amir Muhammad said his department had no employees apart from himself.

Illegal deforestation still continues, lamented deputy agriculture director Suhbatullah, adding they have recalled on the relevant ministry and supporting organizations to help them but of no avail.

Urging relevant ministries and supporting organizations to help his department he said the lawless province has also suffered long dry spell and numbers of acres of land was lying barren.

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