Representative image
NEW DELHI: India has issued over 500 visas to Afghan nationals in the last four months, including more than 200 medical visas, signalling a calibrated humanitarian push to ensure uninterrupted access to treatment for Afghan patients amid severe constraints in the country’s healthcare system.The visas have been issued since the rollout of a new Afghan visa module in April 2025, with medical cases emerging as a key priority area. Officials said a significant proportion of applicants sought visas for cancer care, trauma management and advanced diagnostics, reflecting Afghanistan’s limited capacity to handle complex and emergency conditions domestically.Linking visa facilitation to broader health support, Union Health Minister J P Nadda, during talks with Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, said India would continue providing free treatment in Indian hospitals for Afghan patients with emergency and serious ailments, while ensuring smoother medical visa processing. He said India’s engagement with Afghanistan remains firmly people-centric and guided by humanitarian considerations.The meeting also reviewed India-backed healthcare infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including five maternity and health clinics in Paktia, Khost and Paktika provinces, a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, and the construction or upgradation of key facilities such as an oncology centre, trauma centre, diagnostic centre and thalassemia centre in the Afghan capital. Additional health sector proposals are under active consideration.India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years. Nadda said cancer medicines and a CT scan machine, requested by the Afghan health ministry, are ready for dispatch and will reach Afghanistan by the end of this month. Requests for a radiotherapy machine and further medical supplies are also being processed.Capacity building was another focus area, with India working on plans to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to conduct a medical camp and train local doctors. The Jaipur Foot camp organised in Kabul in June 2025, where 75 prosthetic limbs were fitted, was cited as a model to be expanded in the coming year.Both sides expressed satisfaction over the pace of cooperation, with India reiterating that visa facilitation, treatment access and healthcare support will remain central to its engagement with the Afghan people.
