UN diplomat praises UAE healthcare facilities

A UN diplomat praised the medical treatment he received in Dubai after suffering health complications in Afghanistan. He said the facilities available here are on par with the ones in advanced counties.

Daniel Endres, Deputy Chief of Mission, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Kabul, underwent kidney surgery at Welcare Hospital, and is now convalescing.

"They've done a professional job," he said. "What's amazing is the way they take care of you. They are very advanced."

While in Kandahar to meet with de facto governor Gul Agha Sherzai last Friday, Endres was suddenly overcome with severe pain in his left side.

He was rushed to the U.S. airport base in Kandahar. where he was given morphine, and later flown to the German ISAF hospital in Kabul.

Endres was told his kidney was obstructed and infected, and needed 'serious treatment'.

Eventually, it was decided that Endres, a Swiss national, should be flown to Switzerland for medical attention. On his way to Geneva, transiting Dubai, the UN diplomat was urged to consult a local hospital.

Dr K.R. Malpani, Consultant Urologist at Welcare Hospital, advised Endres it was 'not a good idea' to travel in his condition and recommended that he receive treatment here.

Dr Malpani suspects complications arose as a combined result of an excessively high-protein diet and inadequate intake of water, especially in Kandahar, where the temperatures are now soaring.

"In Afghanistan, we know they largely rely on meat products. A high-protein diet can precipitate the formation of kidney stones. Coupled with an inadequate intake of water, it can aggravate the situation," he explained.

Surgery was performed on Wednesday and the patient is scheduled to depart for Geneva tomorrow.

It is not the first time 44-year-old Endres has faced a critical situation on the job.

Twelve years ago, while posted in Pakistan, he and his colleagues were kidnapped by villagers who mistook them for Russian soldiers.

Without any means of communication with headquarters, the group had to negotiate their own release.

"We did not have Thuraya phones then," he quipped, pointing to the bulky handset resting next to him. "We had radios, but the villagers confiscated those. So we called for a 'shura' and managed to explain our situation. We were released after three days."

Such mishaps have not dissuaded Endres from continuing with the UN body's work with refugees.

He flew to Kabul in mid-November, and has since established a permanent base there.

Some 1.5 million Afghan refugees have repatriated to Kabul since the fall of the extremist Taliban regime, he said.

Afghans constitute the largest refugee population with 3.5 million in Pakistan and 2.5 million in Iran.

"Our task is to help protect these refugees and make sure they are safe. Our main task is to find a durable solution for them," he said.

According to the UNHCR, repatriation is the ideal long-term solution for refugees, who mostly head for Kabul, where the ISAF ensures a relative degree of security, and the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"About 90 per cent of these people return to a place which belonged to them, which may be destroyed now," said Endres.

UNHCR provides returnees with much-needed monetary and logistical assistance.

Each family is given a 'return package', which includes $100, 100 kilogrammes of wheat, and non-food items, such as blankets and sanitary items, he said.