The Afghan Medical Association of America (AMAA) is actively pursuing the goals that has been put forward by the founders of the Association before the year 1992. This year we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of our association.

In 1992 there was chaos and war inside Afghanistan and the warlords were jockeying for power and there were gross human rights violations with loss of life, dignity and property. The Infrastructure of the Government disintegrated as Afghans continued to take refuge in other countries. The hope of peace after the defeat of the soviets and communists evaporated. The health of the Afghans further deteriorated.

The AMAA has tried to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by helping to support refugee camps, sending funds to the Children’s Hospital and by sending money, supplies and educators to improve medical education inside Afghanistan.

During this era the AMAA and Loma Linda University sent teams to Herat and Jalalabad to explore the possibility of establishing links to the medical school since they were the only relatively stable states in Afghanistan at that time.

The Dean of Nangarhar Medical School was able to travel to the US and visit with the AMAA leadership and LLU. The AMAA was able to start helping the school by providing monetary fund and material help.

The AMAA also extended the helping hand to the government of the North Alliance under the leadership of Mr. Rabani and the AMAA was invited to explore the possibility of helping the medical school in Mazar.

The war continued with the interference of foreign countries. Their agendas, under the pretext of religion or ethnicity, succeeded in increasing the warlord’s personal gain. This sad status of the nation seeded the opportunity for what could have been a change for the better.

The change, however, brought the Taliban to power with governance of no budget for much needed medical education and health services. The province of Herat, Mazar and Nangarhar and most of the country changed hands and now the Taliban were in control.

The Dean of Nangarhar Medical School was assassinated and the relationship with the AMAA was lost with exception of the AMAA’s continued funding of the Children’s hospital.

The relative calm and security in Kabul gave the opportunity for the members of the AMAA and LLU to again travel to Kabul and Nangarhar and provide humanitarian help.

LLU has had a long and mostly academic relationship with the medical schools inside Afghanistan dating back more then 40 years. Most of the AMAA members during their attendance of medical school in Afghanistan have had a good relationship with the faculty of LLU with some having had teaching positions at LLU.

The AMAA was able to send funds to multiple hospitals inside Kabul and together with LLU participated in teaching, establishing a medical library and donating books to the library. Furthermore the AMAA extended humanitarian assistance to basic science teachers and rewarded the best students for their academic accomplishments.

Unfortunately the growth of religious fundamentalism, infiltrated by terrorist under the pretext of Islam, furthered the Taliban movement. The ongoing drought and UN embargo with the interference of other countries further complicated the already disastrous status.

The AMAA through repeated resolutions, which were forwarded to the Taliban, disagreed with their polices with regards to human rights violations, religious edicts, cultivation of poppies and terrorism and condemned the destruction of the Afghan heritage.

The unfortunate and tragic events of 911 was another opportunity for Afghans to hope for change for a better life, with the reality that there is no other way other then peace and observance of basic human rights.

The AMAA leadership congratulated the new transitional government of Mr. Karzai and with LLU extended their cooperation.

The AMAA and LLU delegates traveled to Afghanistan last month and visited the Minister of Public Health, the Minister of Higher Education, the President of Kabul University and the Dean of Kabul Medical Institute. The AMAA again provided funds for basic science teachers.

The AMAA is conducted another study regarding medical students level of English and medical knowledge. This study will be published in the Afghan Medical Tribune, a AMAA publication, after it is presented in our upcoming seminar.

The events inside Afghanistan are unpredictable and only the future will tell what is going happen. Most of the warlords with questionable histories are in power and we are hoping the current government authority will put aside the past differences and together be the servants of all people without consideration of their ethnicity or religious belief.

The AMAA will continue to emphasize the needs of the Afghan nation without any regard to who is in power in the government.

Khushal A. Stanisai MD

President, AMAA