Local sources in Helmand say members of the Taliban’s health facility monitoring committee are closing health centres over personal demands and under various pretexts. They also accuse the committee members of corruption and discriminatory conduct during inspections.
Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, November 9, that the committee was established by the Taliban’s Public Health Directorate to monitor and inspect the activities of health facilities.
According to the sources, the Taliban committee has closed 13 health facilities and pharmacies in the districts of Marjah, Nad Ali and Sangin in Helmand province.
Sources say the Taliban closed 10 health facilities and three pharmacies, citing the absence of qualified staff, high medicine prices and a lack of documentation.
Representatives of the Taliban’s Public Health Directorate, the Food and Drug Department, and the Intelligence Directorate are reportedly members of the committee.
Sources say the committee inspects health facilities in the provincial capital and districts of Helmand once a week. They added that facilities that fail to meet the committee members’ personal demands are treated in a discriminatory manner.
Meanwhile, Taliban public health officials in various provinces across Afghanistan have faced criticism over corruption and abuse of authority.
