WHO flags funding shortage risk in Afghanistan

The World Health Organization said Monday 80 percent of services that it supports in Afghanistan could shut down by June due to a funding shortage.

The UN health agency said the cash shortfall, which comes amid massive US aid cuts, is tied to a shift in "development aid priorities".

"Without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June 2025, leaving an additional 1.8 million Afghans without access to primary health care," WHO said in a statement.

The agency said that 167 such operations have already closed due to a lack of financial support.

"The consequences will be measured in lives lost," said WHO's Afghanistan chief Edwin Ceniza Salvador.

"This is not just about funding. It is a humanitarian emergency that threatens to undo years of progress in strengthening Afghanistan's health system," Salvador added.

WHO has been sounding the alarm since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the agency.

This pullout and the end of Washington's contributions put at risk the global measles surveillance network, which until now has been entirely funded by Washington.

Afghanistan saw more than 16,000 suspected measles cases and 111 deaths in January and February, according to WHO.

The figures are disputed by the Taliban authorities, who returned to power in 2021 with the ousting of the US-backed government.

The Taliban government is not recognised internationally and relies largely on NGOs, UN agencies and aid donors to keep the health system afloat.

WHO said Afghanistan is also facing "multiple health emergencies", including outbreaks of malaria and dengue.

There are ongoing efforts to vaccinate enough children to eradicate polio, which remains endemic in only two countries: Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan