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The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put an additional strain on Afghanistan’s weak healthcare system. Prior to the pandemic, the government and its allies had already problems in providing high quality health services for the people in Afghanistan because of inadequate facilities, insecurities, and ongoing conflicts. This year, COVID-19 exacerbated the situation and overwhelmed the healthcare system even further. As predicted, an influx of migrants suspected of having COVID-19 contributed to community transmission and led to an increase of cases across the country. A series of deadly attacks on civilians and healthcare workers in the country poses an additional burden, and severely weakens healthcare structures in times where health services are indispensable. These circumstances make evident that the international community needs to provide more support for Afghanistan’s healthcare system and pass the United Nations resolution for a ceasefire in the country.

Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) offers a promising approach to addressing the significant burden of smoking in Afghanistan. Over three million Afghans smoke daily, making it a leading cause of preventable deaths in the country. While the previous Afghan government implemented various tobacco cessation policies and strategies, these measures were only partially effective in reducing the number of smokers or smoking-related deaths. In 2021, community-based initiatives in Kabul and Herat started advocating for Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) as a novel, realistic, and practical approach proven to promote smoking abstinence and minimize tobacco harm. However, implementing THR strategies in Afghanistan faces numerous challenges, including a lack of governmental support, funding issues, unfavorable market conditions, the high cost-effectiveness of THR products, and misconceptions about these products. To effectively promote THR in Afghanistan and overcome these challenges, it will be necessary to implement THR policies that support THR products for smokers, regulate the market for these products, produce them locally with healthcare professional oversight, conduct more engaging advocacy campaigns, and secure domestic sponsors.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [7], as of 3 June 2020, 324 464 people have been screened for symptoms. According to The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) [8], a total of 75 incidents in 2019, compared to 65 in 2018, occurred on health care workers and health facilities. According to WHO, there are 9.4 skilled health professionals and 1.9 disproportionately distributed physicians per 10 000 individuals [2].

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been spreading in every part of the world, putting nations at risk with its pandemic status, including Indonesia. COVID-19 vaccine has been deemed as one of the most effective interventions to date for mitigating the spread and mortality from COVID-19. Responding to the situation, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) has allocated the means necessary to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines; placing into consideration the unique context of the country, recently categorized as a middle-income country and archipelagic with a population over 270 million. This article aims to present the challenges associated with the distribution of COVID-19 vaccination as well as recommendations to mitigate them, to ensure a timely and effective COVID-19 vaccination program in Indonesia.

Food security is a major element for the sustainability, stability and development of a country. However, despite fundamental efforts in fighting poverty, Afghanistan continues to struggle with food insecurity with a large proportion of its population living below the poverty line. With extreme climates, protracted conflict, and now COVID-19, food insecurity has become rampant and is on the rise in the country. Efforts have been reinforced to mitigate this issue, but a spate of obstacles which seems not to come to an end, has contributed to the deterioration of the situation. With the collaboration and efforts of international organizations, there remains a glimmer of hope to potentially reduce the gravity of the food insecurity in the country. This paper aims to highlight the efforts of Afghanistan in alleviating food insecurity with a focus on the impact of COVID-19 on this issue. It also presents recommendations that may help ameliorate the country’s food security status during and after the pandemic.

Kazakhstan announced the first cases of COVID‐19 in March 2020. Within a span of a few months, the pandemic ravaged all regions affecting vulnerable populations due to limited access to healthcare services and co‐morbidities. To minimize the spread of the pandemic, the government announced the implementation of containment measures such as quarantine, movement restrictions, and lockdowns among others. The collateral effect of the pandemic has disrupted economic and learning activities pushing several people below the poverty line. The pandemic revealed the weakness of healthcare including the acute shortage of essential medicines and lack of hospital beds. This calls for stringent measures to revive the economy and mitigate the reeling effect of the pandemic. As a result, Kazakhstan commenced COVID‐19 vaccination efforts in February 2021. To date, about 47.8% are fully vaccinated pushing Kazakhstan closer to achieving herd immunity at the 60% threshold. However, the country faces challenges such as vaccine hesitancy and uncertainty surrounding vaccine effectiveness against new variants of SARS‐CoV2, among others. This paper aims to explore the health and socioeconomic challenges caused by COVID‐19 in Kazakhstan, control strategies, vaccination campaigns and progress towards herd immunity. This paper describes the COVID‐19 situation in Kazakhstan with special focus on the country's vaccination efforts against COVID‐19. It also explores the challenges and progress the country has made thus far in regard to COVID‐19 vaccination.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019, with the first case identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, on 12 December 2019. In order to perceive the comprehensive impact of this pandemic, we have to know that misinformation and denials about COVID-19 have surely exacerbated its diffusion and hindered the response against it. Turkmenistan remains one of the very few countries in the world that lacks reports about emerging cases of the novel coronavirus. Turkmen authorities claim that they have adopted all attainable measures required in order to combat the virus, asserting that COVID-19 has yet to reach their country. Despite the government’s reported absence of COVID-19 in the country, rumors, media reports and independent sources suggest the spread of the pandemic in Turkmenistan. By mid-June 2020, the outbreak was referred to as being serious with patients suffering extreme health risks, and following its state of disrepair and unethical practices, many of those anticipated to be COVID-19 infected tend to suffer at home, discouraging any interaction with the healthcare system. The civil society in Turkmenistan, for the time being, takes full part of the government’s duty in the process of informing and educating the public regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and endeavors to keep the government and WHO accountable for behaving in such repressive ways that could lead to rather preventable loss of human life in Turkmenistan. Yet, efforts hang fire before unveiling the real situation, and Turkmenistan’s government owning up to the negations and roaming speculations, not only regarding the coronavirus crisis, but every public-related issue itself.

Afghanistan faces numerous challenges relating to gender equality and humanitarian crises despite collective efforts by local and international actors. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the regime has continued to implement several discriminatory policies such as the ban of girls from going to school, and women from going to work which violates the fundamental human rights of women and girls. These actions significantly hinder the progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and its targets. Beyond the gender equality concern, these restrictive policies not only erode global efforts to empower women but have significant negative implications for the health, education, inclusion, and quality of life of women and girls in Afghanistan. This article highlights the gender equality gaps affecting women and girls in Afghanistan since the reemergence of the Taliban regime in 2021. It proposes pragmatic approaches and strategies to address these gaps.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world has exposed some long-standing deficiencies in health systems, particularly in environments with low financial and medical resources. Most patients ill with COVID-19 require oxygen and supportive therapy for survival as there remains no conclusively established curative therapy. Following a number of critical research work and drawing from a millennia-long evolution of medical practice, respiratory support has been identified as a paramount intervention to ensure lives are saved when supportive care is required, and oxygen is an essential commodity to achieve this. This letter focuses on the numerous means for oxygen delivery to health facilities and in turn the end users and expands on the importance of innovation to improve oxygen supply. We describe a community distribution system with a telemedicine structure that can be leveraged for oxygen delivery.