Exploring barriers to access to care following the 2021 socio-political changes in Afghanistan: a qualitative study

TL;DR

This study explores how recent political changes in Afghanistan have worsened access to healthcare, identifying key barriers like lack of staff and financial hardship.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into how socio-political changes in 2021 have impacted healthcare access in Afghanistan through qualitative analysis of health professionals' perspectives.

Findings

Lack of quality human resources is a critical barrier to achieving UHC in Afghanistan.

Financial hardship makes essential health services inaccessible for many Afghans.

Health system weaknesses have worsened due to the 2021 socio-political changes.

Abstract

Following the change of government in August 2021, the social and economic landscape of Afghanistan deteriorated into an economic and humanitarian crisis. Afghans continue to struggle to access basic healthcare services, making Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country a major challenge. The aim of this study was to perform a qualitative investigation into the main access to care challenges in Afghanistan and whether these challenges have been influenced by the recent socio-political developments, by examining the perspectives of health professionals and hospital directors working in the country.

Health professionals working in facilities run by an international non-government organisation, which has maintained continuous operations since 1999 and has become a key health reference point for the population, alongside the public health system, and hospital directors working in government hospitals were recruited to participate in an in-depth qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.

A total of 43 participants from ten provinces were interviewed in this study. Four issues were identified as critical barriers to achieving UHC in Afghanistan: (1) the lack of quality human resources; (2) the suboptimal management of chronic diseases and trauma; (3) the inaccessibility of necessary health services due to financial hardship; (4) the unequal accessibility of care for different demographic groups.

Health professionals and hospital directors shed light on weaknesses in the Afghan health system highlighting chronic issues and issues that have deteriorated as a result of the 2021 socio-political changes. In order to improve access to care, future healthcare system reforms should consider the perspectives of Afghan professionals working in the country, who are in close contact with Afghan patients and communities.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13031-024-00595-4.