Afghanistan: the struggle to reach medical care

18-11-2010 Photo gallery

Fighting continues to rage throughout Afghanistan between Coalition troops and insurgent forces. Its impact on the civilian population is increasingly severe. Kate Holt travelled with the ICRC to Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar to document how relentless fighting is denying millions of Afghan civilians access to basic health care. The hospital is still treating patients who have suffered other sorts of injuries or contracted disease as an indirect result of the conflict, and who far outnumber patients with weapon-related injuries.

- A taxi doubles as an ambulance transporting war-wounded people to the ICRC compound in Kandahar City. The ICRC will pay the taxi driver and, after assessing the patients’ wounds, bring them next door to Mirwais Hospital for treatment.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / v-p-af-e-01682
- Twenty-four-year-old Bibi with her mother on the floor of the maternity ward awaiting her turn so that she can deliver her baby. Because of war casualties there are not enough beds for everyone. Bibi and her mother walked from their home for two days to reach Mirwais and were delayed at numerous military checkpoints along the way.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / v-p-af-e-01669
- An elderly man wounded by a bomb blast must also wait his turn for treatment. Patients are triaged, so that the severity of the illness or wound determines who gets treated first.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01718
- Zulma watches over her son Mohammed, who is in a coma after contracting meningitis as a result of an untreated infection. Because of the security situation, the majority of children in Helmand and Kandahar are unable to obtain treatment for common diseases. Some die of easily treatable and preventable ailments.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01758
- Fifteen-year-old Obidella being attended to by both an ICRC and a hospital staff nurse. Obidella lost his leg when an improvised bomb exploded while he was picking pomegranates on his family’s farm.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01632
- Eleven-year-old Nubiad recovers after surgery. Caught in the crossfire near his home in Kandahar City, he was shot through the stomach.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01713
- Surrounded by members of his family, a man who lost both legs when a homemade bomb exploded a year ago waits to be fitted with prosthetic limbs. Because artificial limbs need to be regularly refitted, maintained and repaired, amputees require a lifetime of care.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01681
- A malnourished child being fed by her grandmother in the paediatrics ward. According to the World Food Programme, more than half the children in Afghanistan suffer from malnutrition.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01680
- A truck driver being treated by hospital staff in the intensive care unit. He was shot while driving through Kandahar.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01636
- A mother sits by her child, who is being treated for measles, a disease that is easily prevented by immunizing children before they are exposed to it. But most children remain unvaccinated – and vulnerable – to disease because of the security situation in the region.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01761
- A pregnant woman waits to deliver her baby in the maternity ward. Most births in the country still take place at home, in the absence of a skilled birth attendant. This is one reason why Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01766
- An ICRC nurse cares for a baby born prematurely. Unless they receive constant care, premature babies are more likely to die than those born full term. Afghanistan’s under-five mortality rate is one of the highest in the world.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01658
- Seven-year-old Noman suffers from a rare blood disease and must have frequent transfusions in order to survive. He has already lost two siblings to the genetic disease. In developed countries he could expect to receive regular treatment, but in war-torn Afghanistan there is always a risk that he may not be able to reach the hospital in time.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01657
- Three-year-old Nafasgol had a simple infection, but because of the security situation his mother was unable to reach the hospital for prompt treatment. The infection has now turned into life-threatening pneumonia.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01757
- A small child is being treated for severe diarrhoea. The mother had to walk for four days to reach the only health-care facility capable of providing the treatment required. Because of the delay, the child’s illness worsened.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01653
- Medical staff and a policeman attend to a man thought to suffer from mental illness. He was brought to the hospital after jumping in front of a passing car.
  © ICRC / K. Holt / af-e-01624

Afghanistan: the struggle to reach medical care

18-11-2010 Photo gallery

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