India has reaffirmed its commitment to humanitarian assistance and healthcare cooperation with Afghanistan, including the long-term supply of medicines, following meetings in New Delhi between Indian officials and the Taliban public health minister.
India’s Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda met Taliban Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, on Thursday, according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Health. The talks focused on continued medical support for the Afghan people amid ongoing humanitarian challenges in the country.
As part of the engagement, India made a symbolic handover of cancer medicines and vaccines, the ministry said, adding that a larger consignment of medicines and vaccines, along with a 128-slice CT scanner, is being dispatched to Afghanistan.
The meeting took place as India has stepped up humanitarian outreach to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, despite New Delhi not formally recognising the Taliban rule. India has continued to provide food aid, medical supplies and development assistance through humanitarian channels.
Separately, India and Taliban officials also discussed expanding cooperation in traditional medicine during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the second World Health Organization Global Summit on Traditional Medicine on Dec. 17 in New Delhi, according to India’s Ministry of AYUSH.
The meeting was co-chaired by Prataprao Jadhav, India’s Minister of State for AYUSH, and Jalali, and focused on enhancing collaboration in traditional systems of medicine including Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy.
Discussions covered knowledge exchange, capacity building and potential cooperation in education, research, regulation and healthcare delivery, the ministry said. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to promoting traditional medicine as a pillar of people-centred and holistic healthcare.
Afghanistan’s health system has struggled in recent years due to economic collapse, funding cuts, Taliban restrictions and shortages of equipment and medicines, with international aid agencies warning of growing pressure on hospitals and clinics across the country.
Moreover, Taliban announced ban on the import of medicines from Pakistan in October after rising tensions with Islamabad.
