Afghan hospital where blood flows in open drains touted by US as 'success story'

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday September 19, 2007





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State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard has been accused by a Congressional committee of stonewalling investigations into billions of dollars of waste and fraud among contractors paid by the US to rebuild Afghanistan. CBS News covered one such case of shoddy contracting, at a hospital in Jalalabad.

Public health expert Dr. Dave Warner showed CBS that the hospital is forced to dump its biological waste in pits out back because it can't afford the fuel to run a US-donated incinerator. The hospital was also provided by the US with a "new" septic truck that turned out to be a 60-year old vehicle with a fresh coat of paint and a plumbing system where blood can be seen flowing in open drains. Equipment is so restricted that critically ill newborns have to share oxygen machines and ultraviolet lights.

Warner said that when he tried reporting the problems to the Pentagon, he was told to keep quiet because this was one of their "success stories."

The following video is from CBS's Evening News, broadcast on September 18.



