KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that 6.3 million people in Afghanistan, mostly women and girls, are at risk of losing access to essential health services due to deepening budget cuts.
In a post on X on Thursday, UNFPA said hundreds of rural health centers and mobile clinics nationwide are being forced to shut down.
The warning comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) also raised alarm over funding shortfalls.
WHO previously reported that 80 percent of the health facilities it supports in Afghanistan could shut down, and confirmed that 202 centers have already suspended operations following the halt of U.S. aid in February.
Without urgent intervention, WHO says more than 220 additional facilities may close by June 2025, potentially cutting off basic healthcare access for another 1.8 million people.
Afghanistan’s healthcare system—largely dependent on foreign aid—has been under immense strain since the Taliban’s return to power.
While international donors helped keep some services running over the past three years, agencies now say critical funding is drying up.
