The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that 80 percent of the healthcare centers it supports in Afghanistan are at risk of shutting down by June this year due to funding shortages. In a report published on Monday, March 17, WHO expressed serious concern over the issue, emphasizing the devastating impact such closures would have on vulnerable populations.
The organization stated that the closure of these centers would leave millions of people, including women, children, the elderly, internally displaced persons, and returnees, without access to essential healthcare services. According to WHO statistics, as of March 4, 167 healthcare centers had already shut down due to financial constraints, cutting off life-saving medical care for 1.6 million people across 25 provinces. The organization has warned that, without immediate intervention, more than 220 additional healthcare centers could be forced to close by June 2025.
The report highlights that more than one-third of healthcare centers in northern, western, and northeastern Afghanistan have already shut down, raising concerns about an impending humanitarian crisis. Edwin Ceniza Salvador, WHO’s representative in Afghanistan, stated, “These closures are not just numbers in a report; they represent mothers unable to give birth safely, children deprived of life-saving vaccinations, and communities left unprotected against deadly disease outbreaks.” He added, “This is not just about funding. It is a humanitarian crisis that threatens to undo years of progress in strengthening Afghanistan’s healthcare system.”
This development follows an earlier report by Save the Children, which recently announced the closure of 18 healthcare centers in Afghanistan and warned that 14 more would be shut down in the coming month due to reduced international aid. According to Save the Children, the decline in foreign aid has also led to the suspension of programs treating malnourished children.
You can read the Persian version of this Afghanistan news here:
سازمان صحی جهان: ۸۰ درصد مرکزهای بهداشتی در افغانستان در خطر بسته شدن هستند | روزنامه ۸صبح
