Kabul: Save the Children has warned of the devastating consequences of funding cuts to its health programs in several countries, including Afghanistan.
The organization announced that due to financial constraints, 18 of its 32 health clinics in Afghanistan have already shut down, and without new funding, the remaining clinics will also close next month.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Save the Children revealed that these 32 health clinics provided essential medical services to 134,000 children in January 2025 alone.
Dr. Hanif, a physician working with Save the Children in northern Afghanistan for the past three and a half years, emphasized that these clinics are the only healthcare facilities available in the region. Each month, they provide treatment to 2,500 patients.
Currently, the clinics are operating with minimal financial support, but within weeks, their services may cease entirely due to a lack of funding. Dr. Hanif warned that hundreds of malnourished children would be left without access to critical healthcare.
"Our clinic is the only option for this community," said Dr. Hanif. "There are no other doctors or nurses in the area. The budget cuts have deeply saddened the community. Right now, we have 135 malnourished children under our care."
If these clinics close, families with malnourished children will struggle to afford transportation or medical care at government or private hospitals. In response to the crisis, doctors and nurses have pledged to continue working for a few months without salaries, recognizing Afghanistan’s urgent need for humanitarian assistance.
Save the Children stated that due to recent reductions in foreign aid, it has been forced to suspend malnutrition programs affecting 131 million children worldwide. In Afghanistan alone, funding shortages have already led to the closure of 18 out of 32 active health clinics, with the remaining 14 clinics only funded for another month.
The statement also highlighted the broader impact of the U.S. government's suspension of nearly all foreign aid for 90 days, a decision made on January 24, 2025, to reassess the effectiveness of these programs. Save the Children noted that this suspension is affecting millions of children across 40 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, jeopardizing health, nutrition, and education programs.
Gabriella Waijman, Save the Children’s Director of Operations, stressed the urgency of continued support:
"We have been saving children's lives for over a hundred years—that's why we exist. Cutting life-saving support when more children than ever need help is like trying to put out a wildfire with a small, leaking water bottle."
The organization urged world leaders, partners, and donors to invest in children’s futures, emphasizing that supporting children today creates a safer, more stable world for everyone.
The warning from Save the Children follows a similar alert from the United Nations, which recently stated that Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, second only to Sudan.
On March 6, 2025, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that over 200 healthcare centers in Afghanistan had shut down last month due to funding shortages, leaving 1.8 million people without medical services.
"The funding shortfall has also affected malnutrition treatment and prevention programs," Dujarric said. "Our humanitarian partners warn that the lack of funding will lead to both loss of life and livelihoods, putting past development gains at risk."
Afghanistan is currently grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis driven by long-term conflict, poverty, climate change shocks, and increasing protection risks, especially for women and girls. The UN estimates that 23 million people in Afghanistan rely on humanitarian aid for survival.
