KABUL, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday it has been providing essential health services to people on the move and hard-to-reach Afghans while supporting the country to prevent the health-care system from a breakdown.
The agency said in a release on its website that "IOM has stood on the front lines of the UN's COVID-19 response in the country, with presence currently across four border provinces: Herat, Nimroz, Kandahar and Nangarhar."
"Since the beginning of the year, almost half a million people have received essential health assistance from IOM. IOM's health teams now are rapidly preparing to increase capacity and adapt support to fill urgent gaps to help ensure that the Afghan health-care system does not collapse in the medium term," according to the UN agency.
The security situation in Afghanistan has remained generally calm but uncertain since the Taliban's takeover in mid-August, while the economic situation has worsened in the Asian country with higher unemployment rate and rising poverty.
UN agencies, aid organizations and a number of non-governmental organizations are racing against the time to deliver life-saving aid and supplies to crisis-hit Afghans ahead of winter.
