Key Messages:
• People confirmed to have COVID-19: 38,855 (as of 1pm, 17 September. Source: Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health - MoPH)
• Deaths from COVID-19: 1,436 • Samples tested: 107,593 Key concerns: Border crossing areas, in-country testing capacity, protective equipment for frontline workers, maintaining essential health services, public complacency, sustained prevention and mitigation measures, messaging and rumour management
Situation Overview:
According to John Hopkins University, over the course of 2020, COVID-19, has taken more than 900,000 lives and infected close to 30 million people across the globe. In Afghanistan, MoPH data shows that 38,855 people across all 34 provinces are now confirmed to have COVID-19. Some 32,503 people have recovered, and 1,436 people have died - 76 of whom are healthcare workers. Almost 10 per cent of the total confirmed COVID-19 cases are among healthcare staff. 107,593 people out of a population of 37.6 million have been tested. The majority of the deaths were people between the ages of 50 and 79. Men in this age group represent half of all COVID-19-related deaths. Men account for more than 70 per cent of the total COVID-19 confirmed cases, although this may be the result of over-representation of men in testing. Due to limited public health resources and testing capacity, as well as the absence of a national death register, confirmed cases of and deaths from COVID-19 are likely to be under-reported overall in Afghanistan. Kabul remains the most affected part of the country in terms of confirmed cases, followed by Hirat,
Balkh, Kandahar and Nangarhar provinces.
Complacency and failure to follow public health advice is creating grave risks in the community with people generally not observing physical distancing protocols. Recent modelling on COVID-19 projections, developed by the Centre for Humanitarian Data in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and released on 9 September, suggests cases and deaths will continue to rise over the next four weeks. Modelling further suggests a significant increase in severe cases (potentially up to 3x the number) should current preventative measures be lifted, with serious risks for Afghanistan’s economy and people’s well-being.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.