Srinagar, Dec 18 (KINS): India on Thursday reiterated its firm commitment to supporting Afghanistan’s health sector and humanitarian needs during a meeting between Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, and Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali.
The two leaders reviewed the ongoing India–Afghanistan health cooperation and explored ways to further strengthen collaboration in healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and capacity building. Nadda подчеркed that India’s engagement with Afghanistan has always been guided by a people-centric approach, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with a focus on welfare, capacity building and access to essential healthcare services. He said India’s assistance continues to be driven purely by humanitarian considerations and the deep-rooted ties between the peoples of the two countries.
Highlighting India’s contribution to Afghanistan’s healthcare infrastructure, Nadda said several key projects have already been approved and implemented. These include the construction of five maternity and health clinics in Paktia, Khost and Paktika provinces, a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, and the construction or upgradation of specialised facilities such as an Oncology Centre, Trauma Centre, Diagnostic Centre and Thalassemia Centre in the Afghan capital. He added that additional proposals for health sector support are currently under active consideration.
The Union Health Minister informed that India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the last four years. He also said that cancer medicines and a CT scan machine, requested by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, are ready for dispatch and will be delivered by the end of this month. Proposals from the Afghan side for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are also being processed.
Both sides also discussed capacity-building initiatives. India is working on modalities to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to organise a medical camp and provide training to Afghan doctors. The success of the Jaipur Foot Camp organised in Kabul in June 2025, during which 75 prosthetic limbs were fitted, was noted, with plans to hold more such camps in the coming year.
India further reiterated its commitment to providing free treatment in India to Afghan patients suffering from emergency and serious ailments and to facilitating medical visas. Since the launch of the new Afghan visa module in April 2025, over 500 visas, including more than 200 medical visas, have been issued in the last four months.
Nadda also recalled India’s broader humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, which includes the supply of food grains, medicines, vaccines and emergency relief material, as well as support for rehabilitation programmes in partnership with international organisations.
The meeting concluded with both sides expressing satisfaction over the ongoing cooperation and reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening healthcare support for the people of Afghanistan.(KINS)
