Health
Aid cuts could leave more women dying in pregnancy and birth, UN says
The cuts have had “pandemic-like effects” on health systems globally and could have a “more structural, deep-seated effect”, says WHO director
Cuts to aid budgets are threatening to undermine years of progress in reducing the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, and could lead to a rise in deaths, the United Nations has warned.
Globally, there was a 40% decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, a report by UN agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) showed on Monday, largely due to better access to essential health services.
That could now go into reverse, the WHO said in a statement accompanying the report which did not mention specific cuts but came in the wake of a foreign aid freeze by the U.S. government and the ending of funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for many programmes.
Other donor countries including Britain have also announced plans to cut aid budgets.
“One of the headline messages is that the funding cuts risk not only that progress, but we could have a shift backward,” said Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage at the WHO.
The cuts have had “pandemic-like effects” on health systems globally and could have a “more structural, deep-seated effect,” Aylward added.
The WHO said the cuts were already rolling back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health in many countries, reducing staff numbers, closing facilities and disrupting supply chains for supplies including treatments for hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia.
Cuts to other areas, such as malaria and HIV treatment, would also impact maternal survival, the UN said.
Even before the aid cuts led by the United States, things were backsliding in some countries, and progress has slowed globally since 2016, the report said.
In 2023, despite recent progress, a woman still died roughly every two minutes – around 260,000 in total that year – from complications that were mainly preventable and treatable, it added.
The situation was particularly bad in countries affected by conflict or natural disaster, although the U.S. itself is one of only four countries to have seen its maternal mortality rate increase significantly since 2000, alongside Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
The COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact, the report said: 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth in 2021, bringing the total number of deaths that year to 322,000.
“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today – despite the fact that solutions exist,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Since the launch of the new Afghan visa module in April 2025, more than 500 visas, including over 200 medical visas, have been issued in the last four months, Indian media reported citing a senior Health Ministry official on Thursday.
India has also approved and implemented several key healthcare infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including the construction of five maternity and health clinics in the provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, and the construction or upgradation of major facilities such as an Oncology Centre, Trauma Centre, Diagnostic Centre and Thalassemia Centre in Kabul, The Hindu newspaper reported. Additional proposals for health sector support are currently under active consideration.
On Thursday, India reaffirmed its continued commitment to supporting Afghanistan’s health sector and humanitarian needs during a meeting held between Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda and Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health Noor Jalal Jalali.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing health cooperation and discussed avenues to further strengthen collaboration in healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and capacity building.
The Union Minister underlined that guided by India’s long-standing people-centric approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always emphasised that India’s engagement with Afghanistan should remain focused on welfare, capacity building and access to critical healthcare services.
Nadda added that India’s assistance to Afghanistan remains guided by humanitarian considerations and the long-standing bonds between the peoples of the two countries.
“India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years. Cancer medicines and one CT scan machine, as requested by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, are ready for dispatch and will be delivered by the end of this month. Proposals from the Afghan side for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are also being processed,” he said.
The meeting also discussed capacity-building initiatives. India is working on modalities to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to organise a medical camp and provide training to Afghan doctors.
“At the meeting, India has reiterated its commitment to providing free treatment in India to Afghan patients suffering from emergency and serious ailments, and to facilitating medical visas,” said an Indian Health Ministry official.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has called for India’s cooperation in the standardization and development of traditional medicine during a meeting with India’s Minister for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Prataprao Jadhav.
The meeting focused on establishing a traditional medicine institute and a research center in Kabul, cooperation in training qualified professionals, and the signing of a bilateral memorandum of understanding. Minister Jalali stressed that standardizing traditional medicine is a pressing priority for Afghanistan and noted that India’s extensive expertise in this field would be highly beneficial.
For his part, the AYUSH minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to supporting Afghanistan by assisting in the establishment of a research center and institute in Kabul, developing and implementing academic curricula, and expanding cooperation across various areas related to traditional medicine.
Noor Jalal Jalali, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, held a meeting in Kabul with representatives of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and other international organizations.
According to the ministry’s statement, representatives of these international organizations discussed the delivery of health and development services, improving the management of aid and resources in the health sector, integrating health facilities and aligning them with the new policy, providing health services in accordance with the Ministry of Public Health’s policy, strengthening the immunization and vaccination sector, delivering services based on priorities, and ensuring sustained coordination.
During the meeting, Jalali stressed the need for transparency and attention to the ministry’s priorities in order to enhance the effectiveness and impact of health services. He added that the delivery of health services must be carried out in line with the ministry’s policy and through better management of existing international assistance.
Referring to vaccination campaigns, he stated that the recent measles and polio vaccination campaign had been implemented very successfully, and emphasized that necessary preparations should be made for upcoming campaigns.
He also provided information regarding the review of the BPHS and EPHS health packages and the establishment of a standardized system through technical committees.
In this meeting, Edwin Ceniza, the WHO Representative for Afghanistan, reaffirmed the organization’s continued cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and expressed appreciation to the ministry’s leadership for their tireless efforts to improve the health system.
Representatives of these organizations pledged to maintain effective and sustained coordination and to provide their services within the country in accordance with the policies and principles of the Ministry of Public Health.
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