1 Sep 2021

Afghan refugee, UK doctor & global charity founder: Waheed Arian

From Nine To Noon, 9:10 am on 1 September 2021

President Joe Biden has again addressed the American people about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying continuing a military presence would not enhance the safety and security of America.

The US 20 year military involvement came to an end yesterday with the final flight out of Kabul airport, leaving chaos and an unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The aid agencies Medicins Sans Frontiere and the Red Cross are warning Afghanistan's healthcare system is at risk of collapse, and foreign donors have stopped providing aid since the Taliban takeover. 

Kathryn speaks with Afghan born British doctor Waheed Arian, who witnessed both the Soviet war in the 1980s and the civil war in the 1990s, before finally settling in the UK when he was just 15.

He studied medicine at Cambridge University, works as a NHS radiologist, as well as running Arian Teleheal, a global charity connecting specialists all over the world with doctors in warzones.