KABUL – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that recent U.S. financial cuts may deprive nine million women in Afghanistan of essential maternal healthcare and broader health services, threatening to reverse years of progress in saving mothers’ lives.
In a post on X Tuesday, UNFPA emphasized that these cuts place gains in maternal mortality reduction at risk. Earlier, the agency had noted that 6.3 million women would lose access to maternal health care and related services unless this funding gap is addressed.
UNFPA highlighted that the United States had been one of its most critical donors, contributing an average of $180 million annually. The total of approximately $335 million helped finance maternal healthcare, protection from gender-based violence, care for survivors of sexual assault, and other essential services across more than 20 crisis-affected countries.
The suspension of American support, triggered by policy changes in early 2025, has had profound consequences in Afghanistan, where US-backed programs funded by USAID and the World Food Programme have shuttered hundreds of clinics—leaving millions without care.
This disruption follows significant U.S. foreign aid cuts initiated under the Trump administration beginning January 2025.
UNFPA’s regional director, Pio Smith, has warned that between 2025 and 2028, the absence of U.S. support could result in an estimated 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 unintended pregnancies in Afghanistan alone.
Afghanistan has already experienced notable improvements in maternal health since 2001, with maternal mortality rates falling from over 1,000 to approximately 396 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015. But the withdrawal of aid under the Taliban rule is now threatening to roll back these gains.
