In 2014, 2020 and 2021, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported on the recurrent barriers of access to healthcare in Afghanistan, with a focus on why access was obstructed or delayed. The report found that socio-political and economic factors were the strongest determinants. Some of the most common barriers that MSF highlighted were the ‘high costs and lack of money. This referred to both directly related healthcare costs and indirect costs, such as transport and accommodation.
In 2022, MSF conducted additional research in the form of this report, to see if the situation has changed. This report presents statistics and accounts resulting from research conducted between May and August 2022 with over 200 patients, caretakers, MSF and Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) staff in Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Helmand and Herat provinces.