WHO warns of health care crisis in Afghanistan due to funding gaps

Funding shortages could cause the closure of 80% of Afghan health care facilities supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) by June.

These closures would cut off access to critical medical care for millions, including women, children, the elderly, and displaced populations, the WHO said in a statement released on Monday.

As of March 4, 167 health facilities have already shut down due to lack of funding, leaving 1.6 million people across 25 provinces without essential services, the statement added. If the situation is not addressed, over 220 more facilities could close by June, impacting another 1.8 million Afghans.

"These closures are not just numbers on a report, they represent mothers unable to give birth safely, children missing lifesaving vaccinations, entire communities left without protection from deadly disease outbreaks," said the head of the WHO in Afghanistan, Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador.

"The consequences will be measured in lives lost."

Afghanistan is already battling multiple health emergencies, including measles, malaria, and polio outbreaks.

Salvador warned that the funding shortfall is not just a financial issue but a humanitarian crisis that could undo years of progress in Afghanistan's health system, causing more preventable deaths and lasting damage.

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, told the UN Security Council last week that more than 23 million people – over half the country's population – require international aid.

The United States and the UK are among those to have slashed international aid budgets in recent times.