JP Nadda, Afghan health minister review expanding India-Afghanistan medical ties

New Delhi [India], December 18 (ANI): India reaffirmed its continued commitment to supporting Afghanistan's health sector and humanitarian needs during a meeting between Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda and Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, according to an official release.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing health cooperation and discussed ways to further strengthen collaboration in healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and capacity building.
The Union Health Minister underlined that, guided by India's long-standing people-centric approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently emphasised that India's engagement with Afghanistan should remain focused on welfare, capacity building and access to critical healthcare services.
He added that India's assistance continues to be driven by humanitarian considerations and the enduring bonds between the peoples of the two countries.
India has approved and implemented several healthcare infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including five maternity and health clinics in the provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, and a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, the release said.
The construction or upgradation of facilities such as an Oncology Centre, Trauma Centre, Diagnostic Centre and Thalassemia Centre in Kabul has also been undertaken, with additional proposals for health sector support currently under active consideration.
Jagat Prakash Nadda noted that India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years.
He informed that cancer medicines and one CT scan machine, as requested by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, are ready for dispatch and will be delivered by the end of this month, while proposals for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are being processed, the release added.
The meeting also discussed capacity-building initiatives, including modalities to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to organise a medical camp and provide training to Afghan doctors.
The success of the Jaipur Foot Camp organised in Kabul in June 2025, where 75 prosthetic limbs were fitted, was highlighted, along with plans to organise more such camps in the coming year.
India reiterated its commitment to providing free treatment in India to Afghan patients suffering from emergency and serious ailments, along with facilitating medical visas.
Since the launch of the new Afghan visa module in April 2025, more than 500 visas, including over 200 medical visas, have been issued in the last four months, according to the release.
The Union Health Minister also recalled India's broader humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including the supply of food grains, medicines, vaccines and emergency relief material.
He also referred to India's support for rehabilitation programmes in partnership with international organisations.
The meeting concluded with both sides expressing satisfaction over the ongoing cooperation and reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening healthcare support for the Afghan people, the official release said. (ANI)