Since the Islamic Emirate (IEA) takeover in mid-August 2021, investment in the country’s various fields has increased unprecedentedly. The increase in investment in the mining sector, education, health and other areas is good news for the future of Afghanistan. Hopes are increasing as the Islamic Emirate is making efforts towards attracting more investment in various areas. In Kandahar, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company has officially started production after being established by a conglomerate of 70 investors, at a cost of $50 million. This is considered a big investment in the production of medicines in the country. The pharmaceutical factory, Snow Pharma, in Kandahar’s Aino Mena Township, took six years to complete and will produce tablets, capsules and syrups. According to the company officials, medicine manufactured at the plant will meet World Health Organization (WHO) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) criteria. They say the factory will produce five million tablets, 2.2 million capsules and 100,000 bottles of syrup per day. “We have a very high standard of production here and we have provided employment to many people, 90 percent of whom are Afghans. This is a good thing,” said Mohammad Saeed Siddiq, the head of Snow Pharma. Currently, the company has employed at least 100 people and will employ more workers in the future. Afghanistan has imported mostly all of its medicines from neighboring countries particularly Pakistan, Iran, India, China and some other Asian and European countries, over the years. This has proved costly to the end user. Afghans have also for many years complained about the poor quality of medicines brought into the country. After more than 40 years of armed conflicts, natural disasters, and epidemics, Afghan people today face a new phase in an increasing humanitarian crisis. Such investment in the country will help Afghanistan reach self-sufficiency and boost economic development. When the Islamic Emirate took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, foreign development funding was cut, Afghanistan foreign assets held in the U.S. and other countries were frozen, and many international organizations left the country. Since then, pressure has been steadily building on an already undersized, over-burdened public health system, making it increasingly difficult for people to access health care. The country’s ministry of public health of the Islamic Emirate is making its best to address all challenges facing the people of Afghanistan in areas of healthcare in the country. Currently, thousands of Afghans travel to neighboring countries particularly Pakistan and Iran for treatment. They are still thinking that there are no quality health services and medicines in Afghanistan’s hospitals. With investment on the production of medicines in the country, the problems of shortage of medicines in many hospitals will be in some extent addressed. Mohammad Daud
Afghanistan moving towards self-sufficiency
