AFGHAN CRISIS APPEAL
“Fighting in Afghanistan had been intense since May, but in August the situation got progressively worse.”
Since the change of government in August, our teams have continued providing medical care to the people of Afghanistan. In five locations across the country, our teams are treating emergencytrauma cases and providing lifesaving medical care.
“For a time, the frontlines ran right by our hospital in Lashkar Gah. We were located in between strategic buildings and rockets would be going over the hospital, explosions occurring and bullets hitting the buildings all the time. We were exposed to the crossfire and twice we were hit by rockets.
It was very intense, but through all the fighting we carried on working. It’s a huge hospital, one of MSF’s biggest projects, and is an absolute lifeline in Helmand province. We have nearly 1,000 Afghan staff, an emergency room where we treat more than 500 patients a day and a maternity ward with an average of 60 deliveries a day.
During the fighting we were getting 30 to 40 people in for surgery each day with bullet wounds and injuries from shelling and explosions.
Many people who needed medical care struggled to reach us. People were forced to wait at home until the fighting subsided, while others were caught up in crossfire on their way to hospital. People would be coming to see us for pneumonia, then get caught up in the fighting and arrive with a bullet in the shoulder or the leg. Roads and bridges had been bombed, so what should have been a 40-minute journey to hospital took four hours. There was no fuel, but people were coming on foot from all over the province, on pushbikes with pregnant women, all in 48-degree heat.
The health system in Afghanistan has essentially collapsed. It wasn’t in great shape in the first place, but now the situation is desperate. That’s why it’s so important that MSF is still there, conducting surgeries, helping women give birth, giving people the basic, lifesaving healthcare that they need. It’s vital that Afghanistan and the people who need our help are not forgotten.”
Thankyou. It’s your financial support that enables us to continue working in Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries. We couldn’t do it without you.
The Afghan Crisis Appeal will fund MSF’s work in Afghanistan, as well as supporting our work in neighbouring countries.