BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- Medical leaders from coalition forces and international medical organizations gathered at the Jirga Center May 5 for an all-day seminar to discuss infectious diseases, which plague the Afghan population.
The speakers at the seminar were Afghanistan medical experts from the Ministry of Public Health in Kabul and the World Health Organization. The purpose of this seminar is to train U.S. and Coalition doctors to treat Afghans the Afghan way, said Lt. Col. Mendalose Harris, CJTF-101 Public Health nurse. The first speaker was Dr. Ahmad Jan Naeem, Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Public Health. Infectious disease control is very important because most of the mortalities in Afghanistan are a result of infectious diseases, said Naeem. Dr. Sha Muhamad Rahim, a staff officer at the Ministry of Public Health, spoke of five strategies being developed to combat infectious diseases. The Ministry of Public Health is going to strengthen their resources so they are better prepared for an epidemic and can respond more quickly, he said.

The ministry wants to develop the infrastructure of Afghanistan to extend to more rural areas of Afghanistan and develop a risk communication plan. There are challenges when trying to accomplish these strategies, said Rahim. Some areas are deemed unsafe for medical personnel and the difficult terrain of Afghanistan makes rural areas hard to access. Also, the lack of females on the medical staff makes it hard to treat the female population.
The system currently being used is the Disease Early Warning System and it services all provinces.  The DEWS system is used to collect information about certain diseases and provide aid. Last year the DEWS detected 165 outbreaks, said Dr. Nanjibullah Assadi, Ministry of Public Health DEWS Internal Coordinator. Tuberculosis, malaria and leishmaniasis were the three main diseases discussed at the seminar. All three can be detected by DEWS.
The Ministry of Public Health would like to reduce the global burden of tuberculosis by 2015, said Dr. Hamid Hassan Momand, the National TB/HIV Collaboration Officer. The Ministry of Public Health considers tuberculosis a priority and the organization plans to ensure access for diagnosis and treatment for each patient while reducing deaths and the disease.

Malaria is another high-priority infectious disease, said Dr. Najibullah Safi, the Ministry of Public Health Leishmaniasis and Malaria Program chief. The population of Afghanistan most at risk for malaria is the percentage of the population living below 2000m sea level and the population that cultivates rice.
Leishmaniasis cases have risen in the last 10-15 years because of political instability, sporadic diagnosis and treatment of cases and the absence of vector controlled activities, said Safi.
These three infectious diseases, along with others, are taking a toll on the Afghan population. The infectious disease seminar gave the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health an opportunity to explain to the Coalition forces and international medical organizations how they operate and plan to expand in the future.  This information can encourage teamwork among medical personnel, resulting in better health care for the Afghanistan population.