Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Afghanistan: Measures and challenges

ABSTRACT

Because most Afghans are accustomed to the daily warnings of the government and the news of death and insecurity, this strategy was used to persuade them to follow health and government instructions.3 The first warnings made people panic before the outbreak escalated. The relevant centers gradually increased daily tests from 50 to 100 and finally 300 tests.3 The shortage of diagnosis kits has been one of the biggest problems in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. [...]4 May 2020, Afghanistan has done ~11,068 diagnostic tests (284 per 1 million population), which is one of the lowest rates among Asian countries.2 The high cost of diagnosis, lack of diagnostic kit production, shortage of skilled laboratory staff, inappropriate sampling, many problems in the transfer of samples, including lack of proper roads and low security due to the presence of ISIS and the Taliban, are other important problems preventing the diagnosis of this disease.3 Treatment To treat SARS-CoV-2–positive cases, the government built medical centers within the diagnostic centers to provide basic services to alleviate these patients’ complications. According to the WHO, Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, with 9.4 skilled health professionals and 1.9 physicians, per 10,000 population.