Almost 10 million people are hungry in Afghanistan as the country sees its sharpest-ever surge in child malnutrition. 1 in 3 children is stunted. And, one the most dangerous places to give birth has become even more treacherous. 

When hunger spikes, it’s women and girls who eat last and least. Along with hunger, they face spikes in violence, pregnancy complications, exploitation, and the loss of opportunity.

Will you rush a gift today to provide lifesaving care to women and girls in Afghanistan and crisis zones around the world?

Mothers and their children waiting for health services outside of a UNFPA clinic.

In Afghanistan, girls aren’t just going hungry. They’re being shut out of their futures.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans women and girls from receiving a general education. Since 2021, nearly 1.5 million girls have been prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade.

One girl, who had been a sophomore in high school, shared with CNN reporters, “I wanted to be a doctor in the future. But then, all the doors of schools were closed.”

“My mom was never educated… But what is the difference between me and my mum now? I have an education, but we are both at home.”

UNFPA is the only provider of lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare in the country and works to support girls with sexual health information, family planning resources, menstrual products, and advocating for an end to the harmful practices of child marriage and female genital mutilation.

With education pushed even further out of reach, our work to keep girls healthy and safe is more critical now than ever. Please, will you make a gift today to power lifesaving care for girls in Afghanistan and around the world?

Mother and her newborn at a UNFPA clinic in Afghanistan

Today, one woman needlessly dies from pregnancy and childbirth complications every two hours in Afghanistan. Nearly all of these deaths can be prevented by training and deploying more midwives.

But with girls forced out of the education system, this lifeline for all Afghan women and girls is fading more and more each day.

Right now, we are operating 385 family health houses, which are staffed by community midwives to support safe births in remote communities. We also operate 89 mobile health clinics to screen mothers, pregnant women, and children for malnutrition, and provide maternal health services and primary care.

Your support keeps these vital clinics open. Thanks to supporters like you, women and girls continue to have access to lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare, even after emergencies like the devastating earthquakes in 2023 and 2025, the increasingly restrictive situations women and girls find themselves in, and this latest hunger crisis.

Thank you for being there when women and girls who have nowhere else to turn. Will you send lifesaving support today?

With appreciation

— USA for UNFPA​