ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan in a meeting with Afghan health minister Dr Qalandar Ebad discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and ease difficulties being faced by the Afghan health sector.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently completed a high-level mission to Kabul and said in a statement that Afghanistan’s health system was “on the brink of collapse” and the country faced an “imminent humanitarian catastrophe.”

WHO representative to Afghanistan Luo Dapeng last week urged the international community to resume funding Afghanistan’s health programs, saying cuts in donor support had “left thousands of health facilities without funding for medical supplies and salaries for health staff.”

The deteriorating situation underscores the dilemma faced by many international donors, many of which are reticent to fund the Taliban-led administration, some of whose members are on international sanctions lists.

Pakistani ambassador Khan discussed these difficulties with the Taliban health minister.

“Discussed need of strengthening bilateral cooperation in health sector & difficulties being faced by Afghan health sector due to freezing of funds,” Khan said in tweet.