Buy Medical Equipment in Afghanistan

A landlocked market with its own import permits

Afghanistan is landlocked, so every consignment arrives overland from Pakistan, Iran or Central Asia, or by air into Kabul International Airport. Before arranging any freight, two questions decide whether an order can proceed. Does the importer hold an official trade licence and a Ministry of Public Health import permit? And which border crossing is likely to remain open long enough for the consignment to pass?

We're MediGear. As a medical device distributor registered in England and Wales, we quote, document and ship certified equipment for healthcare buyers in more than 80 countries. Once you name the model or describe the clinical requirement, we identify verified manufacturers who can supply it and check the points an Afghan import will raise. The quote you receive is one your clinical lead and purchasing officer can both work from. No account to create: start on our buyers page.

Who sends us Afghan requests?

Requests come from public, humanitarian and private buyers across healthcare in Afghanistan:

• Ministry of Public Health hospitals, from Khair Khana 102-Bed Hospital in Kabul to health facilities in Nangarhar, Kandahar and Herat
• Service providers delivering the basic health and hospital packages under the UNICEF-managed Health Emergency Response project
• UN agencies such as UNICEF, which buys equipment for public hospitals
• The ICRC, which supports Afghan Red Crescent clinics and seven physical rehabilitation centres
• Medical charities such as MSF and EMERGENCY, which run trauma, surgical and maternity services
• Teaching hospitals such as the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children in Kabul
• Private clinics, laboratories, X-ray and dental practices, and the medical equipment suppliers who import for them

Their purchasing methods differ considerably. The procurement of medical supplies for a ministry hospital sits with the ministry's own procurement directorate, while UNICEF has bought equipment for public hospitals. A private X-ray clinic may need one unit and a route to its site. So we ask who is buying, who will import and where the unit is going before we quote.

Import permits from the Ministry of Public Health

Health products are regulated by the Ministry of Public Health's deputy ministry for medicine and food, which publishes as the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority. A 2026 law on preventing the smuggling of food, medicines and health products bars transport firms from bringing health products in for anyone without an official trade licence and a ministry import permit. Goods brought in without them can be destroyed, so ask the ministry early whether your unit falls under that rule.

There is no public device register to search, and the authority's published registration checklists cover medicines rather than equipment. The practical check therefore sits with your importer, who should confirm with the ministry's import and export directorate that the model can come in and hold the permit before anything ships. A 2007 regulation on producing and importing medicines and medical equipment is still listed as in force. Regulatory advice is outside our role, and we are not an Afghan importer or licence holder. Each quote states the unit's certification for your importer to present.

X-ray and CT units: what to confirm locally

Imaging is less clearly mapped than medicines. The ministry's list of laws and regulations includes a regulation on private X-ray clinics, so a private clinic installing a unit should expect ministry rules to apply. Public hospitals are adding imaging as well: a digital X-ray machine was inaugurated at Baghlan Provincial Hospital in October 2026.

Which body now licenses radiation equipment, and what it expects on shielding, testing and operators, is not set out in any published rule we can point you to. Ask the ministry before you order a CT scanner, a C-arm, a mobile X-ray unit or a dental OPG. Whatever the answer, have a qualified physicist plan the room's shielding. We will send the technical documents, shielding data and service manual, so those talks can start while the quote is still open.

Power, testing and spares for Afghan health facilities

These are the points we most often check with manufacturers when matching a unit to hospital needs in Afghanistan:

• Supply and sockets. Sockets take the type C and F plugs used across much of Europe. Ask your engineer to check the voltage and its stability at the site, and whether the unit should run behind a stabiliser or UPS.
• Testing on arrival. No national acceptance-testing rule has been published, so agree on your own checks before delivery. Get the service manual and electrical safety data early, so that testing can begin as soon as the unit arrives.
• Spares before winter. Probes, electrodes, filters and cartridges have to reach the site for the life of the unit. We confirm what fits, and which spare parts and consumables are worth shipping with the order.
• Language and software. Check the menu languages, DICOM and HL7 options, and anything your IT staff need before the unit joins the network.

Any gap in the details goes to the manufacturer before we quote. Answering a question now saves far more time than a unit delayed at a border post.

Documents for a consignment to Afghanistan

Customs administration falls under the Ministry of Finance, and the importer's permit has to match the documentation, so we supply:

• A commercial invoice and packing list that match the import permit
• A certificate of origin for each consignment
• An HS code for each line
• Copies of the product certificates and the maker's declarations
• The information your importer needs for the ministry import permit

Timber deserves care on this route. Afghanistan has not reported an ISPM 15 rule to the Plant Protection Convention, and plant quarantine at the border ports is run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. A crate may still pass through a transit country first, though, so we ask for ISPM 15-treated and marked wood, or packing made without wood, from the start.

Getting medical supplies to Kabul or a border crossing

1. Ask for a quote. Give the model, quantity and facility, plus the importer who holds the permit, through the RFQ form or by email.
2. Receive the quote. Expect a written answer on the product, lead time, certification and route, usually within 48 hours for catalogue items.
3. Approve it on paper or by email. Your written confirmation is what converts the quotation into an order.
4. Freight towards Afghanistan. Sea freight to a port such as Port Qasim in Pakistan for the road leg, or air freight into Kabul International Airport for smaller or urgent items, which also suits equipment needed in Kabul itself.

Our delivery ends at the port or airport you nominate, and the import is yours from that point. Your importer or agent clears the goods with customs under the Ministry of Finance, and you arrange the haul through crossings such as Torkham, Spin Boldak, Islam Qala or Hairatan. Borders can close at short notice, and snow, avalanches and floods disrupt mountain roads in winter and spring, so tell us the route early.

One unit, a ward or a donor-funded project

Small orders are welcome, and for one of the health centres in Paktia Province, replacing a single monitor or autoclave can be quoted on most catalogue lines. We also quote multi-line requests for new wards, field hospitals and programme fit-outs; see hospital setup for larger projects. Teams equipping Kabul maternity hospitals can look at Women, Children and Neonatal. Used medical equipment is listed in our refurbished range. No published Afghan rule on refurbished imports has been found, so your importer should confirm the position with the ministry before ordering a used unit.

Disclaimer

What you read here is general information for buyers in Afghanistan. None of it is legal, regulatory or customs advice, and it is not an offer to supply. Quotations are subject to manufacturer availability, and an order is firm only once both parties agree in writing. Whether a device can be imported depends on the importer's trade licence and the Ministry of Public Health import permit, and X-ray equipment may also fall under the ministry's rules for X-ray clinics. You handle import clearance and transit, and you are responsible for the regulatory status of your purchase. We neither import goods into Afghanistan nor hold any licence there.