The U.S. government has recently claimed that no one has died due to the termination of USAID funding, yet we know that this loss has already devastated the lives of millions, including women, girls, newborns, and families in remote villages across Afghanistan.

With the loss of U.S.-funded maternity services, women in rural Afghanistan are facing life-threatening complications during childbirth, often without support. Compounded by recurring droughts, limited access to clean water and nutritious food continues to increase maternal health risks. Local health providers emphasize the critical role previous maternity clinics played in ensuring safe deliveries and preventing spikes in maternal mortality rates.

A woman in the Takhar province explained, “I waited for my husband to come home from farming and take me to the (nearest) clinic. There is no clinic near us. My babies who were miscarried were full-term, and I had to deliver them. They were twins.”

The shutdown of nearly all U.S. aid programs has driven over 200 health clinics across 28 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces to close or suspend operations, leaving up to 3 million Afghan people without primary care. At the Nangarhar regional hospital, official accounts show a 3-4% rise in infant mortality — specifically due to funding cuts.

Your support is vital to delivering vital care and nutrition assistance for women and girls left behind to suffer and perish. In the aftermath of massive funding cuts, will you rush an emergency gift to deliver lifesaving care to those fighting for survival through humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and across the globe?

Without critical funds, emergency food assistance and health and psychosocial support services for Afghan women and girls are at extreme risk, and in some cases, have already shut down. Researchers estimate that without these programs, more than 14 million people will die over the next five years, with five million of those expected to be children younger than five.

But there is hope. After a traumatic and life-threatening first childbirth, Rahila, a 26-year-old woman in the remote village of Khwaja Karim in Zaranj district, developed an infection and thought she'd never get pregnant again. She shared, “I have been wishing for many years to have another child, but everyone says my uterus is damaged.”

But once a UNFPA-supported Mobile Health Team — including midwife Nafisa — reached Rahila’s community, she received months of consistent care and treatment, restoring her health and eventually she became pregnant again.

Midwife Nafisa during a maternal health discussion with a mother in her clinic.

The health team closely monitored her pregnancy and assisted a safe delivery, and Rahila brought a healthy baby into the world. Nafisa shared, “The conditions were challenging, but our determination to provide safe medical care and education never wavered. One day, Rahila walked into our clinic. Her face reflected years of sadness, but there was a flicker of hope in her eyes.”

Rahila’s story of resilience and hope demonstrates the life-changing impact of accessible maternal healthcare in even the most remote corners of Afghanistan, care that you can provide.

Your gift today can save the lives of women, mothers and their babies, and girls in Afghanistan and beyond. We hope you’ll find it in your heart to make an emergency contribution right now to deliver lifesaving care and food assistance where it’s needed most.

Thank you for supporting women and girls in their most urgent time of need.

— USA for UNFPA