Military healthcare starts transitioning to Afghan control

“I am proud to say we are able to provide care, not only for Afghan National Security Forces but for civilians in the region as well. We will continue to grow and take care of our people in need, and I hope to see this kind of success spreading throughout all of Afghanistan,” said ANA Brigadier General Asif Bromand, commander for the east region medical command, speaking at the ceremony in Paktia.

The staff at Paktia Regional Military Hospital has worked independently for the last couple of months with advisory support from the NATO-led coalition, but the ceremony marked the ANA’s full capability in running things on its own.

The hospital in Paktia has set the standard for hospitals across the country by showing major improvement over the last couple of years.

“This hospital, even with all the challenges that all Afghan facilities face, was able to deliver better healthcare, better quality assurance measures, and more efficient healthcare than any other regional hospital,” said U.S. Air Force Major Roger Shih, Senior Medical Advisor of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) medical validation team. “Not only have they mastered the basic elements of running a hospital, but are starting to master the more advanced stages and rising to a level competitive with other countries such as the United States.”

“I see the improvement of the healthcare system here, and as it keeps improving it will give the Afghan people a sense of pride and understanding of the legitimacy of the ANA and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” added Shih.

“With this transfer of authority, we should all gain a confidence in ourselves and our abilities, a confidence that is shared by the coalition; it helped us get here today,” Bromand said. “I am very thankful for our coalition partners and I will miss the friendships that I have made.”