Thursday, February 19, 2004 TODAY
Loma Linda University news
Afghan hospital seeks LLU’s aid
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| Abdullah Sherzai, MD (left), Afghan deputy minister of health, discusses the idea of Loma Linda University running Afghanistan’s most famous hospital with Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, chancellor of LLU. |
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health is asking for Loma Linda University’s
help in running a major teaching hospital in Afghanistan and to expand the University’s
continuing education program.
According to Abdullah Sherzai, MD, Afghan deputy minister of health, if LLU can
take on the task, it would play a significant role in changing the way the Islamic
world sees the United States. "What better way to change the world view
and the world direction than to give life to a country that has nothing but its
will?" says Dr. Sherzai.
Hospitals in Afghanistan have limited resources. Many don’t even have electricity
or water. Although the facility seeking Loma Linda’s support, Wazir Akbar
Kahn Hospital in Kabul, has those amenities, it lacks basic medical equipment
such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, and modern medications. The hospital
has 200 beds with the capacity to grow to 350. In comparison, Loma Linda’s
medical facilities have a combined total of 880 beds.
Because of the country’s health-care limitations, more than one of every
three Afghan children die before reaching the age of 5—many due to infections
that can be overcome if the country had the antibiotics to give children. Pregnant
women die at a rate of 1,700 out of every 100,000 women, a figure at least eight
times greater than developed countries.
Dr. Sherzai asked for Loma Linda University’s support in this project (estimated
at a cost of less than $1 million) because it has four decades of commitment
in Afghanistan. "Afghanistan is a poor Islamic nation that is 10,000 miles
away and does not feel that America is their enemy," explains Dr. Sherzai.
Loma Linda University is interested in helping Afghanistan with this issue. "We
have been working with Kabul Medical Institute, Afghanistan’s primary medical
education facility, on upgrading medical education and recognize the additional
value establishing a solid teaching hospital could have in the country," says
Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, chancellor of Loma Linda University. "In that
light, we are exploring possible funding options with the United States government."
Dr. Sherzai is also asking other United States medical institutions for support.
He has spoken with several potential participants and visited Washington, D.C.,
to seek out government leaders.
According to Dr. Sherzai, it will take at least a decade before the Afghan medical
system can reach the same
levels as other developed countries, given the years of war
that obliterated Afghanistan’s infrastructure.
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Thursday, February 19, 2004 TODAY
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