Officials in Balkh said that seasonal diseases with the symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and fever have had an “unprecedented” increase among children in the province as the weather is warming.
Abdul Rauf Frogh, head of Abu Ali Sina Hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif city, the center of Balkh, said that at least 500 children are taken to Balkh hospitals every day, which is an unprecedented number.
He said that the warm season and lack of attention by parents to the hygiene of their children and their food are the main reasons behind the increase in seasonal diseases among children.
“Sadly, the number of children who are brought to our health centers is on the rise. We visit more than 500 children a day, from which, we admit at least 150 of them,” Frogh added.
A number of parents who took their children to Abu Ali Sina Hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif said they are worried about the possibility of the lack of attention to their children due to the increasing number of patients in the hospital.
They said that they are also faced with a lack of medicine that is provided freely to the patients.
“We are not given medicine. Two or three children are kept on the same bed,” said Sonita, a Balkh resident. “We seek more attention to our children so that they are saved.”
But an official from the provincial hospital in Balkh assured that his personnel is ready to provide round-the-clock service to patients.
