Many women came to the clinic who had walked for several hours to receive maternal care – some with their newborns and some very pregnant.
And then there were the health workers themselves, determined to serve those who need them in difficult to access nation controlled by the Taliban.
‘Out of radar’
These are some of the scenes observed closely by Andrew Saberton, deputy executive director of the United Nations Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA), on a mission to assess the impact of the recent steep financing cuts.
“I saw and understood the devastating impacts that the massive cuts of the UNFPA will have in one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world, A crisis that can be out of the radar of news but remains one of the biggest crises in the worldSaberton told journalists in New York on Wednesday.
During his trip, the senior official visited not supported services in Kabul, Bamyan and the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He hoped to understand the difference that the UNFPA does in Afghanistan while obtaining a better idea of the impact of financing cuts.
Andrew Saberton (second on the right), deputy executive director of UNFPA for management, visit the Obstetrical Fistula district in Kabul, Afghanistan, where survivors receive care.
Cut budget
The United States has recently announced discounts of around $ 330 million to UNFPA worldwide, of which $ 102 million will have a direct impact on UNFPA’s work in Afghanistan, Saberton said.
Most of this funding would have been used for the provision of family health and mobile care, which are both essential in Afghanistan which already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
This funding would also have been devoted to the provision of essential psychosocial support.
He estimates that 6.9 million women and children in Afghanistan will be affected by the cuts. Moreover, UNFPA will not be able to argue that around 400 of the 900 current health clinics that he supports in Afghanistan, each providing vital care.
Provide help with few resources
Despite these challenges, Saberton stressed that the UNFPA will remain in Afghanistan and will continue to provide rescue care.
“The UNFPA will remain to deliver, but we cannot support our response without help. We need urgent support to maintain these services on the move and protect the dignity, health and life of women and Afghan newborns“He said.
