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Nine million Afghan women at risk of losing maternal health and wider services, warns UNFPA
In a statement posted Tuesday on X, UNFPA stressed that the funding shortfall puts hard-won gains in reducing maternal mortality at serious risk.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that recent cuts to U.S. funding could leave up to nine million women in Afghanistan without access to vital maternal and broader healthcare services—threatening to undo years of progress in saving lives and improving reproductive health.
In a statement posted Tuesday on X, UNFPA stressed that the funding shortfall puts hard-won gains in reducing maternal mortality at serious risk. The agency had earlier projected that at least 6.3 million Afghan women would lose access to essential health services unless urgent financial support is restored.
The United States had been one of UNFPA’s largest donors, contributing an average of $180 million annually. Between recent cycles, U.S. contributions totaled roughly $335 million, helping to support maternal healthcare, protection from gender-based violence, services for survivors of sexual assault, and other programs across more than 20 crisis-affected countries—including Afghanistan.
The abrupt suspension of U.S. aid, triggered by policy changes introduced in early 2025, has had a particularly severe impact in Afghanistan. Key programs backed by USAID and the World Food Programme (WFP) have been forced to shut down hundreds of health clinics, cutting off care for millions of women in both rural and urban areas.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that security risks in Central Asia and developments in Afghanistan are among the primary concerns for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The CSTO is a regional military alliance that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Speaking in Moscow during a meeting with CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov, Lavrov described the region’s security challenges as “central” to the organization’s agenda.
“The problems that are currently among the central ones for the CSTO are new challenges and threats. I am referring to the situation in the Central Asian region of collective security, as well as everything related to what is happening in Afghanistan,” he said.
He praised Masadykov as “one of the leading experts” on Central Asian security, noting that his experience could enhance coordination and increase the effectiveness of allied actions.
Similar to NATO, the CSTO considers an attack on one member state as an attack on all.
Countries in the region have always expressed concern about security threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed these concerns and assured that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against another country.
The Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan has announced that the leader of the Islamic Emirate has approved the establishment of a faculty dedicated to “Prophetic Medicine.”
According to the ministry, this new faculty will play a vital role in advancing medical sciences and training skilled healthcare professionals across the country.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Noorullah Noori, has announced that the long-delayed demarcation and renovation of border markers along the Afghanistan–Iran frontier will officially begin in the near future.
According to a statement from the ministry, Noori made the remarks during a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, Ali-Reza Bikdeli.
He assured the Iranian side that the Islamic Emirate is fully committed to accelerating the process and resolving any challenges that may arise during implementation.
In a separate statement, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul said Bikdeli underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation on border issues, describing it as a key factor in strengthening and expanding overall relations between the two countries.
Officials from both sides agreed nearly three months ago to resume the border-marker renovation project, which had remained stalled for the past seven years.
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