A number of people in some districts of the central Baghlan province complained about dramatic surge in mother-child mortality rate because of lack of female nurses and doctors.
The Jolga district of the province had no female doctor but Borka, Pul-i-Hesar, Talah-o-Barfak and Guzargah-i-Noor districts had one or two female nurses and doctors who used to discharge their duties only day time.
Arbab Asadullah, an elder of the district, told Pajhwok Afghan News there was only one health centre with a single nurse, saying the locals brought the issue to the notice of provincial public health department but could not be ignored.
Similarly, Gozarga district had only one health centre without any female doctor, he said, adding residents were shifting their patients to Nahrain district but pregnant women often lost their lives on their way to clinic.
With the same tone, residents in Burka district also complained about lack of female doctors and nurses, saying that the district had more than 3,000 populations with only two nurses in central clinic who could not work during the night because of militants’ threats.
Dr. Shah Mohammad Hofiani, spokesman of Baghaln public health department, said there were four clinics in Burka district working around the clock but with limited female doctors. Female doctors did not go to the districts due to insecurity.
According to the recent survey carried out by the ministry of public health, among 100,000 women, 329 lost their lives while giving birth due to lack of adequate health centres.