19 May 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – From 1 to 30 April, more than 250 000 Afghans returned from Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, including about 107 000 deportees. A crisis is unfolding at both major borders. Arriving returnees are exhausted, scared and traumatized as they face an uncertain future in a country where 22.9 million people depend on...

19 May 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – The continued influx of returnees from neighbouring countries is exacerbating existing public health issues in Afghanistan at a time when the country faces a complex array of challenges, including widespread population displacement, drought, food insecurity, multiple disease outbreaks and the lingering impacts of the...

Local patients receive essential health care services at a WHO-supported facility in Bamyan province. Photo credit: WHO Afghanistan12 May 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – In Afghanistan, years of conflict and economic hardship have exacted a heavy toll on mental health, leaving many struggling with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other...

6 May 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan, in collaboration with partners and with the generous support of the European Union (EU), inaugurated a new oxygen plant, 4 high-capacity generators and a pediatric bronchoscopy machine at Indira Gandhi Child Health Hospital in Kabul. The project helps address the...

WHO Representative in Afghanistan Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador delivering a speech at the World TB Day 2025 commemoration ceremony, Ministry of Public Health13 April 2025  – On 24 March 2025, the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan hosted a ceremony to commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, marked each year to raise public awareness about the...

27 March 2025, Bamyan, Afghanistan – In central Afghanistan’s Bamyan Province, thousands of mothers and children have better access to lifesaving health care thanks to an initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the...

24 March 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – To mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan is celebrating people like Ayub, a 76-year-old father of 8 from a remote village in Khider district, Daikundi province, who fought TB and reclaimed their health. A nurse visiting Ayub at the Afghan-Japan Hospital. Photo...

17 March 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan is deeply concerned that funding shortages could force the closure of 80% of WHO-supported essential health care services. Millions, including vulnerable populations such as women, children, the elderly, the displaced and returnees, will be left without access to...

12 March 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – In a landmark step towards strengthening Afghanistan’s health care system, the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan, in collaboration with national health partners, have launched the National Health Policy (NHP) 2025–2030. The Policy encapsulates a new vision...

A social counselor at the DATC visits Nargis and her new baby. Photo credit: WHO Afghanistan 6 March 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – Nargis, 26,* grew up in Guzara district, Herat province, where poverty shaped much of her childhood. At 15, she married a much older man and soon gave birth to her first son, Jawid. She had hoped motherhood would bring...