Afghanistan Times
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KABUL — In a stark warning that underscores the fragility of Afghanistan’s humanitarian infrastructure, Andrew Saberton, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has announced that 500 of the 900 UNFPA-supported health centres in Afghanistan are at risk of shutting down due to a $102 million cut in US aid.
Speaking to reporters in New York following a visit to several Afghan provinces, Saberton called the situation “devastating,” stating that the aid reduction will deprive 6.9 million Afghan women and children of access to critical reproductive and maternal health services.
“These are life-saving services,” Saberton said. “Without them, we risk losing the progress we’ve made over the years, especially in remote and underserved areas.”
According to UNFPA, the funding slash is part of a broader $330 million cut to the agency’s global budget by the United States, with Afghanistan taking a substantial hit. The loss threatens mobile health units, family planning programs, and psychosocial support initiatives—many of which serve as the only form of care for women and children in rural regions.
Saberton’s trip included stops at health centres in Kabul, Bamiyan, and areas near the Pakistan border, where the absence of state infrastructure has made UNFPA’s presence indispensable.
“This aid cut couldn’t come at a worse time,” he added. “Afghanistan is grappling with one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, and health workers on the ground are already stretched beyond capacity.”
Despite the partial release of $3.5 million in frozen Afghan assets and minor economic improvements, the country remains in a deep humanitarian crisis exacerbated by global attention shifting to other conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
The potential shutdown of health facilities would disproportionately affect women and children, particularly in remote provinces, and could trigger a spike in preventable deaths, UNFPA warned.
Saberton emphasized that UNFPA will continue its operations in Afghanistan but stressed that without urgent reinstatement of international support, “the country’s most vulnerable people face an increasingly bleak future.”
