Many of the stranded patients include children who were trying to get treatment for congenital heart problems.
Many of the stranded patients include children who were trying to get treatment for congenital heart problems.
With international flights at a halt, Afghan patients remain stranded in India while the first donation of wheat was allowed shipment to Afghanistan.
India shipped more than 5,000 tons of wheat from Kandla Port recently, the first shipment of a planned donation of 75,000 metric tons of wheat and 500,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug some say could help fight coronavirus.
“This humanitarian gesture of Indian people to our Afghan brethren will ensure food security during difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic,” the Indian Embassy in Kabul tweeted.
(2/2) This humanitarian gesture of Indian people to our Afghan brethren will ensure food security during difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic. India is gifting 500,000 tablets of HydroxyChloroquine to AFG for health professionals and COVID-19 positive cases.@MEAIndia @vkumar1969 pic.twitter.com/Ajjdjxk1Gm
— India in Afghanistan (@IndianEmbKabul) April 12, 2020
Meanwhile, Afghan patients and their relatives have not heard from the Civil Aviation Authority after Afghanistan’s Red Crescent Society, a medical aid organization similar to the Red Cross, sent a formal letter requesting the Afghans be able to fly home. The society’s Secretary General Nelab Mubarez said no positive response had been received by Indian officials.
These Afghan patients include a number of children with congenital heart disease and their family members who traveled to India for treatment. One father, Enayatullah, a resident of Kabul province, said he is out of resources after paying $700 for his son’s treatment and another $650 for living and transport costs. He remains stranded in India with his son.
The Red Crescent Society helped about 2,000 children suffering from atrial septal defect, a hole between two chambers in the heart, to seek treatment in India last year.
Compiled from news reports of Pajhwok Afghan News.
