KABUL - A second center for diagnosing breast cancer was inaugurated in the Istiqlal Hospital in capital Kabul on Wednesday.
Public health minister, Dr. Firozuddin Firoz, during the inauguration ceremony, said the four-storey building was constructed with financial support from Italy.
He said the center was equipped with all needed equipment worth cost $1 million for breast cancer diagnosis.
Firoz thanked Italy for its cooperation and said the center would help reduce breast cancer cases in the country.
He also announced to sign an agreement with Italy on creating a center of treatment of heart diseases at the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul in near future.
Such centers would prevent people from traveling to foreign countries for medical treatment, he added.
Besides diagnosing breast cancer, the center will have facilities like endoscopy, echocardiography, CT scan, ultrasound, x-ray and laboratory.
A message from First Lady,  Rula Ghani was also read out at the ceremony. In her message, the first lady said the center’s opening in Kabul was a positive step towards detection and reduction of cancer cases in Afghanistan.
Italy’s envoy to Kabul, Roberto Cantone, who participated in the inauguration ceremony, said cooperation with the Afghan health sector was his country’s priority.
He said his country was committed to supporting to Afghanistan in future too. Italy had spent 23 million Euros in the health sector in Afghanistan since 2001, he added.