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29
Jun
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by Buck • 8:20 am
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I wish for anyone and everyone on planet Earth access to health care. But the Afghans are not alone when it comes to doing without.
(by Griff Witte)
An Afghan doctor checks the wounds of a man at a hospital after a bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 17. The Taliban claimed responsibility.Afghans face a loss of health care
Medical teams scale back as attacks on them rise
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - This month, two Afghan medical workers drove off into the hazy blue mountains that rise above this dusty provincial capital. They have not been seen since.
No one knows who took them, but their disappearance has had far-reaching consequences. With security in doubt, other health-care workers have been ordered off the roads. Clinics are fast running out of medicine because supplies can’t be delivered. Doctors are searching for safer places to work.
The problems here mirror a developing crisis across Afghanistan. Just as violence is heating up, with civilian casualties rapidly escalating, the health-care system is breaking down, according to Afghan and international medical experts.
The deterioration has been especially pronounced in rural areas, scene of some of the most intense fighting between Taliban and international forces. In those places, clinics are shutting their doors because the medical workers have become targets.
More at MSNBC.com
And, from the “Land of Plenty”…
-Among working-age Americans (those ages 18-64), there were 19.8% who did not have health insurance in 2006, a slight increase from 18.9% in 2005.
-Approximately 9.3% of children under the age of 18 did not have health insurance in 2006, a decrease from 13.9% in 1997.
-In 2006, the percentage uninsured at the time of interview among the 20 largest states ranged from 7.7% in Michigan to 23.8% in Texas.
Data from the CDC
