20 % Increase in Birth Deformities in Afghanistan

Officials in the Ministry of Public Health say the malformation of babies during child birth has increased 20 percent in the country.

Doctors in Indra Gandhi Child Healthcare Hospital say the use of unprescribed medicines by pregnant women, poverty, the chemical impact of weapons used during the war and lack of a family planning are among the main causes of increase in malformation of babies.

These doctors warn that if the government does not care about this issue, the number of disabled children will increase in the country.

"We have registered 400 cases of birth deformities that included foot and hand malformations, and one rare case in which a baby's heart was totally out of its body," Dr Abdul Qadir Hajir, a specialist in Indra Gandhi Child Healthcare hospital told TOLOnews reporter.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health has also cited lack of proper healthcare and pregnant women's negligence to go for vaccination on time among the main reasons for such incidents.

"We have so far registered 15 cases of birth deformities, most of them in southern provinces and only one such case in northern areas," Kargar Noor Oghli, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health told TOLOnews reporter.

Kabul residents are also concerned about this issue.

"Severe stress, poverty, less weight and lack of proper feeding among pregnant women are the reasons that women give birth to unhealthy and weak children," an old woman who had come to the hospital told TOLOnews reporter.

Afghanistan is one of the few countries in the world that has the highest rate of child and mother's death rates.

Poverty, the three decades of continuous war, unemployment and lack of proper healthcare throughout the country, especially in the remote regions are cited among the main reasons for the spread of different kinds of diseases, especially among women and children.