KABUL, Afghanistan — Noor Jilal Jalali, the Taliban’s minister of public health, traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the Fourth Global High-level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), according to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health.
The summit will focus on addressing antimicrobial resistance and the effective use of antibiotics, the ministry said.
The visit comes amid growing concerns from health organizations about the state of Afghanistan’s healthcare system, particularly the shortage of female doctors in rural areas.
This gap has raised alarms about the ability to provide adequate care to women and children.
In a February report, Human Rights Watch warned that a sharp decline in foreign aid to Afghanistan’s public health system, combined with the Taliban’s severe restrictions on women and girls, has endangered the health of millions of Afghans.
The report highlighted how the public health crisis has left many Afghans vulnerable to severe malnutrition and disease, with limited resources to address the growing need.
