The World Health Organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, met with Taliban Health Minister Qalander Ebad to discuss Afghanistan's "dire" health and humanitarian crisis. T he meeting took place in Geneva on Tuesday. As Afghanistan's new leaders expand their international involvement, Ebad is part of a Taliban group visiting Geneva for a week of meetings with institutions and non-governmental groups on humanitarian access and human rights.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August, the nation has plunged into financial disarray, with inflation and unemployment skyrocketing, while assistance halts and US sanctions have produced a humanitarian crisis in a country already wrecked by decades of conflict.

Tedros had already met Ebad on his post-Taliban takeover visit to Kabul in September 2021. "Despite modest improvements since then, Afghanistan's health situation remains grave, and the acute humanitarian crisis continues to endanger lives," Tedros said after his meeting with the Health Minister in Geneva.

He said they talked about the country's health needs, system strengthening, disaster readiness, and training the health professionals, with women playing a key role. "There is an urgent need in Afghanistan for diagnostics to detect the Covid-19 virus, particularly Omicron, because the number of patients is increasing," Tedros said.

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