Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The UN humanitarian agency has warned that growing restrictions on Afghan women and girls are further limiting access to critical healthcare services in a country already facing one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed concern that restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan are undermining access to essential and life-saving services, particularly healthcare.
Olga Cherevko, an OCHA official for Afghanistan, said the country continues to record one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally, with nearly 600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. She warned that humanitarian challenges are disproportionately affecting women and girls.
According to OCHA, restrictions on women’s participation in public life and employment are reducing both the effectiveness of humanitarian operations and the ability of women and girls to access critical services. The agency stressed that female healthcare workers remain indispensable to maternal and newborn care across Afghanistan.
Cherevko highlighted a hospital in Bamyan that operates the region’s only neonatal intensive care unit, noting that many female health workers there continue to provide life-saving care for mothers and newborns despite mounting challenges.
The warning comes as Afghanistan’s healthcare system faces growing pressure from funding shortages and staffing gaps. OCHA has repeatedly called for greater investment in the training, recruitment and retention of female health professionals to reduce preventable maternal and infant deaths.
The concerns also follow recent warnings from UNICEF, which said Afghanistan could face a shortage of 25,000 female teachers and healthcare workers by 2030 if restrictions on women’s education and employment continue. UNICEF has additionally warned of major funding shortfalls that threaten essential humanitarian and health services across the country.
International agencies have also raised alarm over deteriorating humanitarian conditions in several provinces, including remote areas of Badakhshan, where difficult terrain, limited medical infrastructure and shortages of skilled personnel continue to restrict access to healthcare. The World Health Organization recently emphasized the need to expand life-saving health services in underserved communities across the province.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and higher education, limits on employment and restrictions on movement. UN agencies say these measures are not only affecting women’s rights but are also weakening Afghanistan’s healthcare, education and humanitarian sectors.
OCHA stressed that sustaining health services, supporting female medical staff and ensuring women and girls can safely access healthcare remain essential to addressing Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian crisis.