WHO welcomes EU’s funding pledge to boost Afghanistan’s health response

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan has welcomed an additional €7 million ($7.6 million) contribution from the European Union (EU) aimed at expanding and strengthening the country’s emergency health response systems and nutrition services.

The new funding is part of the ongoing EU-WHO partnership and will support Afghanistan’s efforts to improve preparedness, disease surveillance, outbreak response, and care for malnourished children. It comes at a time of mounting health and humanitarian challenges across the country.

“This support from the EU couldn’t have come at a more important time,” said Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador, WHO Representative in Afghanistan, speaking at a ceremony held at the Provincial Public Health Laboratory in Matoon city, Khost province.

“Too many families still struggle to get basic care, especially during emergencies. With this new contribution, we can sustain our ongoing support to the population, reach more people, respond faster to outbreaks, and back the health workers saving lives every day.”

The funding will enable WHO to continue supporting 28 public laboratories across the country, enhance disease surveillance and early warning systems, and improve case management of infectious diseases across six regional integrated hospitals.

It will also help expand infection prevention and control protocols and scale up inpatient treatment in 43 therapeutic feeding units for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with complications.

So far, the EU-WHO partnership has allowed approximately 240,000 outpatients—54% of them women—to receive medical consultations. More than 20,000 individuals, including a similar percentage of women, accessed inpatient care, and over 2,380 critical patients received intensive care at five regional infectious disease hospitals supported by WHO.

Additionally, more than 28,000 children under the age of five were treated for severe acute malnutrition at 40 specialized pediatric inpatient units.

Veronika Boskovic Pohar, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to Afghanistan, underscored the broader regional importance of the initiative: “Through this partnership with WHO, we aim at strengthening Afghanistan’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks and health emergencies. With an ongoing surge of migratory movements and the undeniable reality that viruses respect no borders, a stronger and more effective health security system in Afghanistan is a crucial investment in mitigating cross-border risks and safeguarding the health of populations.”

The additional funding is also expected to support the gradual integration of infectious disease hospitals and diagnostic labs into Afghanistan’s national health security framework. This includes building local health workforce capacity, embedding essential services into the public health system, and reducing reliance on international support over time.

WHO and the EU say the reinforced collaboration reflects their long-term commitment to ensuring that essential health services remain accessible and resilient, especially in times of crisis. The goal is not only to improve immediate response capacity, but also to build a more sustainable, community-centered healthcare system for the Afghan people.