Atefa Sarwari
In Bamyan Province, a pregnant woman slipped on ice on her way to the hospital and began bleeding heavily. With no ambulance available, her family carried her in a wheelbarrow for nearly nine hours before reaching medical help. Such ordeals are not rare, maternal and infant mortality rates remain particularly high in Afghanistan’s remote regions, where access to skilled birth attendants is limited and winters make travel nearly impossible
Under Taliban rule, Afghan women now face enormous barriers to healthcare. Hospitals are understaffed, many clinics are closed to women, and cultural taboos prevent open discussion of reproductive health. The result is a crisis where treatable conditions become deadly and silence deepens women’s suffering. According to the UN Population Fund, Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to give birth. Every two hours, a woman dies from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. Menstrual health is rarely discussed, leaving many girls with untreated problems, while restrictions imposed by the Taliban further reduce access to medical care and reliable information.
Artificial intelligence and digital health cannot replace doctors or functioning hospitals, but in fragile settings these tools can provide partial solutions that are private, discreet, and available even in restrictive environments. Around the world, such technologies have already been tested. In Syria, HERA Digital Health supports refugee women with reminders for prenatal visits, vaccination schedules, and access to reproductive health information. In Yemen, MedGlobal has deployed mobile health services that assist midwives in following WHO guidelines and delivering care in areas with limited infrastructure and women’s constrained mobility. In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile and voice-based platforms supported by GSMA have delivered reproductive health education and peer-to-peer learning in local languages, helping overcome literacy barriers. These examples show that when traditional healthcare systems collapse, digital interventions can bridge critical gaps. Global health chatbots such as Ada Health, Babylon Health, and WHO’s Florence already provide guidance on symptoms, maternal health, mental health, and immunization. These examples show that when traditional healthcare systems collapse, digital interventions can help bridge critical gaps.
For Afghanistan, some of these technologies are especially relevant. Ada Health and Babylon Health can help women recognize early warning signs of complications during pregnancy such as preeclampsia or infection. The Clue app enables discreet tracking of menstrual cycles, fertility windows, and reproductive health trends. PeriGen’s PeriWatch Vigilance uses artificial intelligence for real-time fetal monitoring and early detection of labor complications. Ubenwa’s cry analyzer interprets newborn cries to provide potential health insights. HERA Digital Health offers structured advice on labor, hygiene, and emergency care that could guide women step by step in the absence of medical professionals. Most of these tools are free and can function on basic smartphones. The real challenge is not access but awareness, since many Afghan women remain unaware that such resources exist.
This is where local professionals and institutions can step in. Afghan doctors, digital health firms, and the media could create awareness programs in Dari and Pashto to teach women how to use these resources safely. Media outlets like Etilaatroz could lead digital literacy campaigns aimed at spreading such knowledge more widely. More ambitiously, Afghan developers and health experts could adapt these global tools into a single localized platform. By combining period tracking, pregnancy monitoring, newborn guidance, and mental health support into one app designed in local languages, Afghanistan could have a homegrown solution tailored to its cultural and social realities.
Afghanistan’s healthcare crisis for women is severe, but not hopeless. Digital tools cannot substitute for doctors or hospitals, but they can offer discreet, practical, and sometimes life-saving support. In a country where silence often costs lives, technology, if localized and promoted, can give Afghan women private access to knowledge, and with it, a chance at safer motherhood and healthier futures.
