A shortage of medical staff, particularly female specialists, has become a serious problem in southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan International found no female specialists in Helmand, Zabul or Uruzgan, and only three in Kandahar.
Health sources and residents of southern provinces say the number of female specialist doctors has steadily declined during the five years of Taliban rule. They say only three female specialists now remain across the south, all of them in Kandahar.
A health source who asked not to be named told Afghanistan International: “At present, only three female specialist doctors are working in Kandahar, but one of them is absent from the province most of the time.”
The source said the shortage extends beyond female doctors. Other female health workers, including midwives, nurses and specialised staff, have also been pushed out of their jobs because of the Taliban’s restrictive policies.
Bloomberg recently reported that Taliban restrictions on women’s education and employment cost Afghanistan’s economy at least $84 million a year, equivalent to about 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product. Around 3.8 million girls are currently deprived of education in Afghanistan.
A former health official in Kandahar under the previous government, who also requested anonymity, said that although fighting was ongoing in districts at the time and insecurity made travel extremely difficult, most health workers continued working in cities and relatively safer areas.
The source said: “Although there was fighting in the districts and roads were often covered with Taliban mines, most health workers continued working in cities and areas where travel risks were highest. Female specialist doctors were among them, although their exact number was not known.”
Health sources say Taliban restrictions on education, movement and employment, as well as the departure of female specialist doctors from the country, are among the main reasons for the decline in the female health workforce in southern provinces.
Residents say that while the number of female specialist doctors has fallen in cities, the situation in districts and remote areas is even more critical. In many districts, they say, there are neither female specialists nor enough female general practitioners, midwives or other health workers.
UNICEF warned last year that if restrictions on women’s medical education continue, more than 5,000 mothers and children could die. The agency said the bans could lead to the deaths of at least 1,600 mothers and 3,500 infants.
A resident of Chora district in Uruzgan said the absence of female specialist doctors has created serious difficulties. “There are no specialist doctors in Uruzgan, and we are forced to go first to Kandahar and then to Kabul or Herat. When we transfer patients from here, their condition gets worse,” he said.
Zabul is also among the southern provinces facing a severe shortage of female specialists. According to sources, no female specialist doctor had been registered in the province for the past three years, with only a few female general practitioners working there. Residents say female patients are usually transferred to Kandahar for specialist treatment.
Helmand is also struggling with a shortage of female health workers. Residents of Musa Qala district recently protested over the absence of a female general practitioner and threatened to close a health centre. Residents say that in some areas of Helmand there are not only no female specialists, but no female general practitioners either.
A resident of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, said: “There are no specialist doctors here, and even female general practitioners are scarce. We take patients from one doctor to another without success and eventually have to go elsewhere.”
The international community and the UN mission in Afghanistan have repeatedly urged the Taliban to end what they have described as the “tragedy” of denying education to millions of Afghan girls.
Female Health Workforce Since the Taliban’s Return
Residents of southern provinces and health sources say restrictions imposed on women’s education and employment since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 have directly affected the female health workforce.
After restrictions were imposed on girls’ secondary education, female students were barred from universities, and medical studies and professional health training for women later faced severe restrictions.
Health sources say this has created a serious long-term crisis for the training of female doctors, midwives, nurses and other health workers.
UN reports and UN Women have also repeatedly warned that restricting women’s medical education greatly increases the risk of a future shortage of female health workers in Afghanistan’s healthcare system.
