Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, recently announced that a team of Pakistani engineers and technicians based in Kabul will oversee the installation and provision of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals at three Afghan hospitals.

The team’s presence is part of Islamabad’s efforts to assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, where millions are on the verge of starvation, as well as to prevent the economy and health and education facilities from collapsing. Last September, the World Health Organization warned that Afghanistan’s health system was on the verge of collapsing due to international funding cuts to the Taliban-led government, making drugs and essential healthcare nearly unaffordable for the average Afghan.

During a meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) two days ago, the Pakistan health ministry announced the team’s visit to Kabul. The AICC is a policy-making and implementation organisation established as part of the Economic Advisory Council to help Afghanistan’s humanitarian efforts.

“The team is in Kabul to install, assess, and provide the required equipment and medicines to the three hospitals built by Pakistan in Afghanistan,” Khan told Arab News. “These hospitals include Jinnah Hospital in Kabul, a kidney centre in Jalalabad, and a hospital in Logar province.”