Unreliable Medical Tests Force Afghans To Seek Treatment Abroad

Farhad, a resident of Kabul, says everyone in the teeming Afghan capital knows someone who has been forced to seek treatment abroad because pathology labs in Afghanistan cannot accurately diagnose diseases.

He says one of his relatives, a 17-year-old girl, has been ill for the past few years, but still her ailment has not been accurately diagnosed.

"We have some medical labs and other diagnostic facilities in Kabul, but none can accurately diagnose diseases," Farhad told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

The girl sought treatment from the most well-known specialists, but the medicines they have prescribed so far have been ineffective.

"Unfortunately, my poor relatives cannot pay for treatment abroad," he said.

Ahad, another Kabul resident whose name has been changed at his request, says a medical lab in the city diagnosed him with cancer. But the diagnosis proved wrong after he was tested in neighboring Pakistan.

Like Farhad and Ahad, many Afghans have either been victims of incorrect diagnoses or the lack of standard pathological labs has prevented them from a correct diagnosis.

Afghanistan's Medical Brain Drain

While international aid and private investments helped build hundreds of advanced medical labs and imaging facilities over the past two decades, these facilities are now often staffed by unqualified medical personnel and lack proper equipment and test kits.

Many qualified doctors and medical staff fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. It also lost the services of female health-care workers when the Taliban barred women from working outside the home.

The impoverished country of 40 million people has also lost most of the international funding that propped up its fledgling health-care sector from 2002 to 2021, when a US-led international military coalition fought against the Islamist Taliban and supported the pro-Western Afghan republic.

Most Afghans are now left to fend for themselves. Many have to borrow money to afford medical treatment in neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and India.

Abdul Sattar Ayoubi, a young man in the eastern Kunar Province, says the lack of diagnostic facilities forced his uncle and mother to seek treatment abroad. In Pakistan, his uncle was diagnosed with a heart condition while his mother ails from blood cancer.

"Anyone forced to seek medical treatment abroad faces problems and pays dearly," he told Radio Azadi.

Health care in Afghanistan has rapidly deteriorated since the Taliban returned to power four years ago. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) estimates some 18 million Afghans, or nearly half of the country's population, now need health assistance. It says almost 10 million Afghans have "limited or no basic health services."

The country has only 10 health-care workers for every 10,000 people, which is significantly lower than the required ratio of 44 health-care workers for every 10,000 people for adequate coverage.

Acknowledging the chronic problems with medical laboratories, the WHO delivered supplies to Central Public Health Laboratories and facilities in all 34 provinces last month.

"These supplies, essential for cancer detection, microbiology, and biochemical testing, boost lab capacity and improve health care," the organization said in late May.

"Afghan patients are often not diagnosed on time, which always leads to new complications and diseases," said Ataullah Siyam, a specialist in internal medicine in Kabul.

Inamullah Kamawi, a microbiologist in charge of the private medical lab in Kabul, acknowledged the monumental challenges diagnostic centers face in Afghanistan. He says the country lacks lab technicians, scientists, and specialists. This is magnified by the lack of proper machines and kits needed for specific tests.

"If we buy expensive test kits, they expire and we suffer losses," he said of the financial constraints on lab owners.

In large swathes of Afghanistan, residents cannot even access the flawed diagnostics available in some cities.

In the rural southern Uruzgan Province, residents are forced to seek treatment in the nearby southern city of Kandahar or must travel to Kabul, which is approximately 250 kilometers away. Many among them end up traveling abroad for treatment.

"We demand that the [Taliban] government build diagnostic labs here so our patients are not forced to seek treatment elsewhere," said Shafiullah, a resident of Uruzgan.

Abubakar Siddique wrote this story based on RFE/RL's Radio Azadi reporting.