Afghanistan is facing many difficulties in its fight against the coronavirus. The first positive case of the coronavirus was recorded in late February 2020 in Afghanistan with entering a coronavirus infected person from Iran to western Herat Province. Iran, a country plagued by the coronavirus, shares more than 945 Km of the border with Afghanistan and hosts more than two million Afghan refugees. 

One and half months after the first positive case of the COVID-19 was reported in Afghanistan, almost 400 people caught the virus and 14 more died of the illness. But the influx of thousands of Afghan refugees from neighbouring countries, especially Iran questions the validity of these figures. According to official reports, the number of infected people to the coronavirus has reached more than 60,000, with more than 4,000 fatalities in Iran. Following the worsened situation in Iran, Afghan migrants have entered Afghanistan without control and testing of their infections to the virus and this trend continues as well. 

But now, what is Afghanistan's main challenge to deal with the coronavirus?

The first side of the triangle, the public does not have enough awareness about the coronavirus pandemic. They do not take it seriously and still have full faith in the clerics who consider the virus as a punishment from God to the unbelievers. The missionaries in most of the mosques preach the coronavirus as a mercy for Muslims and chastisement to infidels from Allah.

A large group of the public, who are illiterate and somehow believe in the pulpit of the mosque, has been guaranteed that the virus will not enter Afghanistan. They do not hesitate to gather, celebrate special days and enjoy their routine life. 

The second edge of the triangle is the lack of sufficient facilities to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The country suffers from a lack of high coronavirus testing capacity, as it has the only diagnostic centre in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Considering the growing number of Afghan refugees returning from Iran and remaining the country's air corridor open to the world, testing about 100 people for coronavirus in a day is by no means sufficient.

A comparison of the number of coronavirus patients in Afghanistan and other countries shows that the number of infected individuals to the coronavirus is much lower than in other countries. According to the experts, the reason for the low number of patients in Afghanistan is the limited facilities for coronavirus testing. The Public Health Department of Herat Province recently has announced that the activity of the coronavirus diagnosis laboratory in the province has been suspended due to the lack of sufficient materials.

Lack of transparency forms the third edge of the problem. Although the World Bank has provided more than 100m dollars and the US has provided 15m dollars to contain the coronavirus outbreak in Afghanistan, no dramatic measures are taken to combat the phenomenon. The US has long complained of graft by its ally Afghanistan. As Washington had cut more than 160m dollars in direct funding for Afghanistan while accusing the Kabul administration of failing to fight corruption in 2019. 

 In the latest case, the US State Department has stated that "as the world gets slammed by COVID-19, with devastating economic consequences for all, donors are frustrated and fed up by personal agendas being advanced of the welfare of the Afghan people".

Finally, it can be said that if this triangle of the challenge is not broken and destroyed, darker and more catastrophic days will be recorded in the future history of Afghanistan. 

(Views are my own) 

M. Zaher Dowran