Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said on Tuesday that 60 percent of the people now have access to health services across the country.

AVA- The ministry said that access to health care has improved and that once health care centers have been built in remote areas, at least 90 percent of the people will have easy access to medical facilities. 
Afghan health officials said more attention has been paid to the issue since last year and that work has started on an additional 400 health care centers across the country. 
Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz on Monday said at a signing ceremony in Kabul for the construction of health care centers that last year the ministry built 172 new medical facilities in 18 provinces and that this year the ministry will complete another 206 health care centers in 13 provinces. 
In February the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) stated in a report that a survey conducted in the past five months in Kabul and in seven zones in the country found that numerous challenges and problems exist in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH.)
The report covered health facilities, hospitals and other offices related to the public health ministry and stated that although a lot of money and support had been provided for the health sector in the country, the quality of health services remained very poor.  
The commission’s report, said if non-government organizations stopped their support, the health sector would not be able to address people’s needs and the ministry would face serious problems. 
The report said although some progress had been made, there were still numerous challenges and problems in different areas which need to be addressed.
Meanwhile, last year Feroz said that the number of female health workers and doctors was low in the country, adding that there were no female doctors in provinces such as Nuristan, Paktika, Zabul and Uruzgan.
Years of civil war and violence has had a devastating effect on the Afghan healthcare system and unlike other countries in the region, Afghanistan has seen increasing rates of preventable diseases such as diarrhea and respiratory infections.