Healthcare can mean anything from a midwife talking to pregnant internal refugees in their mud huts to state-of-the-art MRI images read by a qualified radiologist in a well-kept Kabul hospital. The physicians from various healthcare institutions we met during our visit to Kabul in 2015 were kind enough to share their knowledge, their experiences and sometimes even the hopes and dreams they have for their country. Many of them do their best despite unfavorable circumstances. Discussions about failed foreign aid and questionable reconstruction projects almost always lead to the conclusion that what the West understands about Afghanistan is very little. Afghanistan is complex and it’s not always clear who the enemy is. However, one thing about healthcare is obvious to any outsider: The level of care and the education of healthcare professionals vary enormously. Foreign aid may help, but capacity building and implementing quality standards needs to come from within the country.
