KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Mobile health teams are providing lifesaving healthcare to people in remote communities across Afghanistan with support from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), but humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Sunday that Afghanistan’s health sector has received only 37% of the funding it requires. Of the $191 million requested for the country’s health response, $71 million has been received so far.
Afghanistan’s healthcare system has faced significant challenges since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Humanitarian needs have escalated amid reduced international assistance, economic difficulties, and the return of millions of Afghans from neighboring countries.
Hundreds of health facilities have closed or scaled back operations in recent years, partly due to funding shortages and restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women’s participation in healthcare and humanitarian work.
The continued closure and suspension of health facilities among with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghnaistan, are expected to place additional strain on Afghanistan’s already fragile healthcare system, particularly in remote and underserved areas where humanitarian-supported clinics often provide the only available medical services.
The WHO and other humanitarian organizations continue to urge greater international support to maintain basic medical services and strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response capacity in the country.
According to the WHO official, more than 22 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance, of whom 14.4 million are in need of health services, amid funding cuts, disease outbreaks, food insecurity and climate-related shocks.
Humanitarian organizations say continued funding is essential to maintaining health services and reaching vulnerable communities, particularly those living in remote areas where mobile teams may be their only source of basic healthcare.
