New Delhi, August 19, 2025 — Afghanistan’s public-health network is buckling as donor funding dries up, forcing hundreds of clinics to shut and leaving women and children at severe risk, according to fresh reports from health agencies and media tracking the crisis. In recent weeks, more than 400 facilities have reportedly closed, with many more on the brink as operating funds stall.
What is failing — and why it matters
Aid once underwrote primary care, immunisation, maternal services and emergency support across Afghanistan. That lifeline has frayed. WHO warned in March that funding shortfalls had already closed 167 facilities and threatened hundreds more unless donors stepped in. The agency cautioned that up to 80% of services it supports could be at risk. Reuters
Meanwhile, Afghan and regional outlets have tracked a sharp escalation in closures during the summer, pushing the system closer to functional collapse. The latest tallies cited by the press indicate around 425 health centres have gone dark. Patients now travel long distances for basic care, while chronic illness, malnutrition and infectious disease go untreated.
The human cost
Children are missing routine vaccines and therapeutic feeding. Pregnant women face dangerous delays because female-staffed services are shrinking and referral pathways are breaking down. In April, international coverage also tied clinic shutdowns to broader funding freezes, underscoring how fast essential care can vanish when cash stops flowing. The Guardian
What WHO and aid groups are doing
Despite the squeeze, WHO and partners continue to fund the most critical services, stretch medicine stocks, and redeploy mobile teams where possible. In March, the European Union allocated additional support to stabilise health operations channelled via WHO’s Afghanistan programme. Still, the agency stressed that the scale of need far exceeds available resources.
Aid agencies have also warned about the gendered impact of the cuts. Fewer facilities, tighter movement restrictions, and fewer female health workers mean women and girls lose access first — and for longest. Norwegian Refugee Council leadership has repeatedly flagged funding attrition as the biggest threat to Afghan women, compounding education and health setbacks. AP News
What needs to happen next
Health experts say three steps are urgent:
-
Bridge financing to reopen closed clinics before the winter surge in respiratory illness and malnutrition.
-
Ring-fenced support for maternal, newborn and child health, including community midwifery and vaccine delivery.
-
Transparent, multi-donor channels to keep supplies moving, protect female-staffed services, and monitor outcomes.
Without these moves, analysts warn Afghanistan will see rising preventable deaths, more disease outbreaks, and irreversible damage to a fragile workforce.
India angle and regional relevance
For South Asia’s health ecosystem, Afghanistan’s fragility poses cross-border risks: outbreaks do not respect borders, and medicine supply chains interlink. India’s policy community has previously supported low-cost vaccines, TB diagnostics and oxygen systems in neighbouring settings; similar targeted health assistance could stabilise critical Afghan services quickly when routed through UN channels with strong oversight.
