Fighting in Afghanistan keeps sick from seeking treatment

Six civilians including two children were killed on Tuesday in an insurgent rocket attack in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. Separately, four civilians died on Monday night when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the same region.

The latest violence comes as the International Committee of the Red Cross reports an increase in weapons-related casualties at their hospital in Kandahar.

ICRC spokesperson in Afghanistan, Bijan Farnoudi, says that the increase in casualties is a result of a troop surge in the region.

“More troops lead to more fighting, and lead to more civilian casualties,” Farnoudi told Vatican Radio.

But he says that the what is more worrying is that people with everyday medical needs – like pregnancy or appendicitis -- are not getting the treatment they require.

“Such people are very often prevented from accessing health care simply because they are scared of leaving the house when a war is ravaging all around them,” Farnoudi says. “What we’re seeing is patients coming in to the hospital too late.”

Listen to the extended version of Kelsea Brennan-Wessels's interview with Bijan Farnoudi...