India Sends Five Tons of Medicine to Kabul Amid Afghanistan’s Drug Shortage

India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that five tons of medicine have been delivered to Kabul. Randeep Goyal, the ministry’s spokesperson, wrote on X on Wednesday that New Delhi remains committed to continuing humanitarian aid and supporting the welfare of the Afghan people.

This move comes at a time when Afghanistan faces drug shortages in several regions, and the Taliban administration, following military tensions with Islamabad, has halted medicine imports from Pakistan. This decision has raised concerns about patients’ access to essential medicines and highlighted the need for alternative sources.

Previously, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced in the month of Jawza (May-June) that it sent 20 tons of essential vaccines for BCG, tetanus, and diphtheria to Kabul to strengthen the children’s vaccination program. Additionally, in the month of Harh (March-April), India provided 13 tons of vaccines and medical supplies related to tuberculosis to assist Afghanistan in boosting its child immunization efforts against the disease.

Over the past year, as ties between India and the Taliban administration have warmed, India has increased its humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. However, health institutions and citizens expect the procurement and distribution of this assistance to be managed transparently and equitably to ensure that those genuinely in need across the country benefit from it.