Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), evaluated his visits to Lebanon and Afghanistan at the press conference held at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Underlining that Lebanon’s economy was in a difficult situation after the big explosion in Beirut Port in August 2020, Ghebreyesus stated that the explosion completely destroyed a warehouse which was being used to store essential medicine.
Ghebreyesus mentioned that 2 thousand doctors, 1500 nurses left the country and 600 private pharmacies were closed in Lebanon, and that as WHO, they continue their work to supply health, basic services and equipment to this country.
STATEMENT ABOUT AFGHANİSTAN
Ghebreyesus stated that he met with important names from the Taliban administration, including the “deputy prime minister” during his visit to Afghanistan and said: “I believe it is very important to establish relations with the Taliban leadership if we want to support the Afghan people.”
Expressing that there have been very important gains in the field of health, especially in the reduction of child and maternal deaths in Afghanistan in the last 20 years, Ghebreyesus said: “As the health system of the country is on the verge of collapse, these gains are now at serious risk.”
Stressing that there is an increase in the cases of measles and diarrhea at Afghanistan and that almost 50 percent of the children live under the risk of malnutrition, Ghebreyesus pointed out that 2.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine sent to the country have not been used yet. He emphasized: “Unless urgent action is taken, it’s only a matter of time before we face a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan.”
Ghebreyesus mentioned he visited a hospital in Kabul and he was infomed that the nurses he met had not received a salary for 3 months, but that these nurses continue to serve the patients.
AA
