An Afghan boy who underwent life-saving heart surgery in Canada last year is reportedly in poor but stable condition back in Afghanistan as funds that could help his slowly deteriorating health remain tied up in Canada.

Ten-year-old Djamshid Popal, who was brought to Toronto to have two of his four heart valves replaced and a third repaired last July, has worsened in health but is still not in critical condition, said Omar Samad, the ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada.

"We have heard through other Canadian and hospital sources that (Djamshid) is not in critical condition and we hope that is the case," Samad said Wednesday. "Our hope is that he is doing better than what was reported and that if he needs medicine or urgent medical care that we could look at the options that exist to help him."

Since his return to his home in Durani, a village just north of the capital, Kabul, Djamshid's health has steadily been deteriorating. The boy reportedly suffers from fits of coughing and painful periods when his feet swell up, making it difficult for him to walk.

At the same time, nearly $16,000 in funds raised for the boy and his family over the last year remains sitting idle in Canada when the money could be used to help the child, said Salma Ataullahjan, president of the Canadian Pashtun Cultural Association.

"The money's not going anywhere because there's too many problems trying to send the money to Afghanistan," said Ataullahjan, who helped raise funds with the East Plains United Church in Hamilton. "There's red tape and when people get money from overseas, people in that country want to know where the money came from because everyone is afraid you're funding something else, such as terrorism."

It's also unclear whether the funds that have been raised are considered tax-deductible by the Canada Revenue Agency. Ataullahjan says this poses a problem as every donor must now be called to see if they still want to donate the money even if they might not receive income tax receipts.

"It's one big mess," she said. "There's just so much red tape and we're asking people to help us. We have troops there, we have people there, we could send it through the Canadian embassy, but nobody seems to be willing to do anything."

Christopher Alexander, the Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, said he has been following the case closely but hasn't had any contact with Djamshid's family directly or offered any specific help recently.

"I haven't had any direct contact with the family or anyone who knows his condition," Alexander said from Kabul. "My sense is that the issues in regards to the allocation of the funding are in Canada. So we don't have a lot of information about that."

He said the government would continue to keep an eye on the boy and take any necessary action if his health deteriorates further. But Alexander added there are many more pressing matters in Afghanistan that need to be addressed.

"We of course want the best for the kid as we do for all the kids in Afghanistan who face challenges, and that's why we're here," he said. "We will continue to take an interest. But our programs are geared toward the whole population. And while we follow a high-profile Canadian case like Djamshid, we're trying to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids and not just an individual."

Samad said that while his embassy in Toronto has received several appeals from organizers to help resolve the funds situation, he has made it clear he would not be getting involved because it was a "community matter."

"We cannot stop people from trying to help in any way possible," he said in reference to fundraising. "But I think we do offer the advice that there should be co-ordination and there should be some type of mechanism for organizing the effort."

While the embassy will not be involved in the fundraising quagmire, Samad said he would take action to consult professionals and doctors in Afghanistan and Canada if Djamshid's condition becomes perilous or if the boy runs out of medicine.

"We will have to consult professionals and especially his own doctors in Afghanistan as well as in Canada and they will have to give expert opinion on what to do," he said.

"We are open to practical means of helping if necessary. Having accurate information about his health and access to health care and medicine is the number one issue for us."