KABUL – The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 11,600 pregnant women are living in precarious conditions in temporary shelters after last week’s deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, leaving them at serious risk.
The agency warned in its latest report that nearly half a million earthquake survivors urgently need medical assistance.
Much of the responsibility for providing care in the disaster zone has fallen on Afghanistan’s few remaining female health workers. WHO emphasized that their presence is vital for ensuring that women and children can access life-saving services.
But Taliban restrictions requiring women to travel with a male guardian, combined with the acute shortage of female medical staff, have sharply limited health access in the affected areas. According to WHO, some female health workers are traveling more than four hours with a male relative to reach remote mountain communities, sometimes bringing their children along because they lack safe accommodation.
The agency stressed that without a secure environment, sustaining or scaling up health services to meet the soaring needs will remain extremely challenging.
The earthquake, which struck ten days ago in Kunar province, has devastated already impoverished communities. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that at least 2,164 people were killed and 3,428 others injured, while nearly 6,000 homes were destroyed and more than 1,000 damaged. The death toll is expected to rise as assessments continue. The Taliban have issued slightly higher casualty figures, saying more than 2,200 people were killed and over 3,600 injured.
The disaster has compounded Afghanistan’s broader health emergency, particularly for women and girls. The country already suffers from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia, with many deaths caused by the lack of timely care, malnutrition, and the absence of qualified female staff.
Since the Taliban returned to power, restrictions on women’s movement and work have further eroded access to health services, forcing many women to delay treatment until it is too late.
Deepening poverty and mass unemployment have also driven a rise in child marriage, leaving many girls facing early pregnancies that heighten the risks of complications and death during childbirth.
Humanitarian groups warn that these pressures, combined with the collapse of public health infrastructure, are creating a crisis where preventable deaths are becoming routine.
The WHO said the current delivery of medical services in earthquake-hit areas depends almost entirely on the sacrifice and resilience of female health workers.
But aid agencies caution that without urgent international support and the removal of restrictions on women, the outlook for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable, especially mothers and children, remains dire.
