WHO Warns Of Medicine & Health Service Shortages For Afghanistan Quake Survivors

In a statement, Guterres said the United Nations, working with Taliban authorities, is assessing the situation and mobilising further support for those affected.

As an initial step, the UN has allocated $5 million from its emergency fund to assist relief efforts, he said.

He added that the United Nations in Afghanistan will spare no effort in helping the Afghan people.

He was detained on the orders of Taliban’s Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaee, sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International.

Naeemzoi, a former member of the Lower House of Parliament, was transferred to a Taliban detention centre in Kabul last Thursday, the sources said Tuesday.

According to the sources, the justice minister demanded that the Kuchis hand over disputed lands in Logar province to the Taliban.

Naeemzoi’s family confirmed his arrest, saying Sharaee is pressuring Kuchi elders under the pretext of “seizing state land.” “This is the second time he has been jailed on the orders of the Taliban’s justice minister,” the family said. “The first time he was held in a private prison inside the ministry, but this time he is in a Kabul detention centre.”

The Taliban had previously released Naeemzoi on bail, with the condition that the Kuchis surrender the disputed land in Logar, according to the sources.

Some Kuchi elders argue that the justice minister is fuelling ethnic tensions by labelling as land grabs properties that were allocated under decrees of previous Afghan governments.

Nearly two years ago, Afghanistan International reported the existence of a private prison inside the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice in Kabul, where Naeemzoi was allegedly held. At the time, Sharaee said he had the authority, under orders from the Taliban’s leader, to imprison “land usurpers” for up to 10 days.

Last year, members of the Kuchi community presented documents to Afghanistan International claiming that Sharaee was ignoring decrees issued by former President Hamid Karzai regarding Kuchi settlements.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has not yet commented on Naeemzoi’s latest detention.

In a statement, the rights group expressed sorrow over the deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan and extended condolences to the families of the victims. It said that protecting human rights must remain central to crisis response.

The criticism came after local sources reported that at least six pregnant women had died in Kunar province due to a shortage of female medical staff and limited hospital facilities.

The UN Population Fund has previously warned that Afghanistan urgently needs 18,000 skilled midwives and cautioned that many women’s lives are at risk if the gap is not filled.

Reports have also linked Taliban restrictions to high female casualties in past disasters. Following last year’s deadly earthquake in Herat, the United Nations said more than 90 percent of victims were women and children. Sky News, citing survivors, reported that some women died because they feared leaving their homes without a hijab or male guardian.

The Telegraph, quoting rescue workers, said the Taliban’s rules contributed to women being “buried alive” during that quake.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have barred girls and women from schools, universities and many workplaces, including health care. The bans have deepened health challenges for women and girls and left many medical facilities without female staff.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that the fatalities were reported in the districts of Nurgal, Suki, Chapa Dara, Pech Dara and Asadabad.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy Taliban spokesperson, said rescue operations are continuing across all quake-hit areas. “In areas where aircraft could not land, dozens of commando forces were airlifted in to pull the wounded from under the rubble and move them to safe locations,” he said.

Fitrat added that special camps have been set up in several districts of Kunar to provide emergency assistance to survivors. He said two centres near the disaster site are also coordinating the transfer of the wounded, the burial of victims and the rescue of those still trapped.

The sources said that despite broad promises of assistance, initial aid particularly medical support has yet to reach quake-hit areas, leaving residents in dire need.

They added that people in villages and affected parts of Chawkay district are facing a severe shortage of drinking water that requires urgent attention.

Although some rescue teams are working in the area, the widespread destruction and a lack of personnel mean many bodies and injured people remain trapped under the rubble, the sources said.