WHO Warns Closure of 150 Health Centers Threatens Polio Fight in Afghanistan
DID Press: World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the closure of more than 150 health facilities across Afghanistan since the beginning of 2026 has significantly reduced access to essential healthcare services and poses a serious threat to ongoing polio eradication efforts.
According to the WHO, the facilities were forced to shut down due to severe funding shortages, leaving millions of people—particularly women, children, and residents of remote areas—without access to primary healthcare, maternal and child health services, disease prevention programs, and emergency treatment.
The organization estimates that more than 22 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance, including over 14 million in need of health services. It added that by the end of June 2026, only 17% of the funding required for Afghanistan’s health response had been secured.
The WHO warned that the funding gap could disrupt vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance, undermining efforts to eradicate wild poliovirus. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries where indigenous transmission of the wild poliovirus has not yet been interrupted.
The warning follows a visit by Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, to Kabul and Kandahar, where she met with Taliban officials, healthcare workers, United Nations representatives, and donor organizations to discuss Afghanistan’s health situation and humanitarian needs.
Dr. Balkhy stressed that continued international support is essential to sustain life-saving health services, maintain immunization campaigns, and achieve the global goal of eradicating polio.
Humanitarian organizations have also warned that declining international aid since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 has placed severe strain on Afghanistan’s healthcare system, raising concerns that further funding cuts could force additional health facilities to close and leave even more people without access to medical care.