When Shahnaz went into labour, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them. She was in a lot of pain, he says. A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born. Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help. But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down, he said, his face crumpling with agony.
The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
It doesn't look like much but in Badakhshan's mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths. It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.
Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul's village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn't have money to pay for a longer journey - renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.
But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road, Abdul said. Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.
I wept and screamed. My wife and child could've been saved if the clinic was open, said Abdul. We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her.
There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan. For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.
The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including... the Taliban, who govern the country. While the Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands, the reality is that families like Abdul’s are suffering immense losses due to reduced healthcare access.
Abdul’s heartbreaking story is just one among many. The closure of clinics has resulted in an alarming surge of maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan. The lack of medical facilities has forced women to give birth at home without any medical assistance, leading to preventable deaths.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, healthcare workers, already overworked, struggle to keep up with the rising number of patients amid severe resource shortages. The ongoing restrictions on women's education and healthcare under Taliban rule only exacerbate these challenges, leaving Afghan women and their families in a perilous state of despair and uncertainty.
The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
It doesn't look like much but in Badakhshan's mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths. It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.
Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul's village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn't have money to pay for a longer journey - renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.
But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road, Abdul said. Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.
I wept and screamed. My wife and child could've been saved if the clinic was open, said Abdul. We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her.
There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan. For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.
The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including... the Taliban, who govern the country. While the Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands, the reality is that families like Abdul’s are suffering immense losses due to reduced healthcare access.
Abdul’s heartbreaking story is just one among many. The closure of clinics has resulted in an alarming surge of maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan. The lack of medical facilities has forced women to give birth at home without any medical assistance, leading to preventable deaths.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, healthcare workers, already overworked, struggle to keep up with the rising number of patients amid severe resource shortages. The ongoing restrictions on women's education and healthcare under Taliban rule only exacerbate these challenges, leaving Afghan women and their families in a perilous state of despair and uncertainty.
