OCHA Warns Afghanistan’s Health Sector Faces 63% Funding Shortfall

DID Press: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that only 37% of the funding requested for Afghanistan’s health sector has been secured, leaving critical medical services in underserved areas facing a severe resource crisis.

In its latest report, OCHA said mobile medical teams supported by the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund are providing services in hard-to-reach areas, but the scale of humanitarian needs far exceeds available capacity.

According to the agency, $71 million of the $191 million required for the health sector has been secured, leaving a 63% funding gap.

The decline in international assistance over the past two years has led to the closure or reduction of services at hundreds of fixed and mobile health facilities, posing serious risks to women, children and residents of rural and mountainous areas.

The warning comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) previously warned of the risk of a broader collapse of Afghanistan’s healthcare system.

Health experts say a prolonged funding shortage, combined with structural weaknesses in the health system, could contribute to rising rates of infectious diseases and a potentially significant increase in maternal and infant mortality.