Turkmenistan president sends COVID-19 tests to Afghanistan

Turkmen TV reported the president also ordered the Foreign Ministry to deliver the tests to Afghanistan. 
This comes after repeated reports that point towards the limited testing facilities and the fragile health system in the country. 
Just this week, the World Bank fast-tracked additional grants to Afghanistan to help desperate families and ensure food security. 
On Wednesday however, the Ministry of Public Health released details of an official survey conducted with the help of the World Health Organization that found the coronavirus has likely infected a third of the country’s population –  roughly 10 million people.
The Afghan health ministry released the estimates Wednesday, saying they are based on antibody tests on about 9,500 people in 34 provinces. 
Acting Health Minister, Ahmad Jawad Osmani told a news conference in Kabul the survey showed 31.5 percent of Afghanistan’s population has been infected by COVID-19.
Osmani noted that 53 percent of Kabul’s nearly five million residents had contracted the coronavirus.
Officially, the number of cases reported on Thursday stood at just 36,937. 
Last month, the International Federation of Red Cross warned: “Afghanistan is on the edge of potential health, social and economic catastrophes caused by COVID-19 as the disease places a crippling burden on one of the 10 most fragile states in the world.” 
“The real toll of the pandemic on the Afghan population is expected to be much higher and remains under-reported due to limited testing and weak health systems,” it added.