Healthcare Access in Afghanistan Crisis 2026

Afghanistan’s health system remained in severe distress in 2025, driven by funding cuts and long-running structural fragility. WHO reported that by 4 March 2025, 167 health facilities had closed, cutting off lifesaving care for 1.6 million people across 25 provinces, and warned that more than 220 additional facilities could shut by June if funding was not restored. WHO also said 80% of WHO-supported essential health services were at risk of shutdown, with the worst-affected areas in the north, west, and northeast. The crisis was accompanied by worsening disease pressure and access barriers. WHO reported more than 16,000 suspected measles cases and 111 deaths in the first two months of 2025, alongside outbreaks of malaria, dengue, polio, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; measles vaccination coverage was critically low at 51% for the first dose and 37% for the second. WHO’s 2025 Health Emergency Appeal said over 22.9 million people required urgent health support, while the broader humanitarian response was further strained by refugee returns, displacement, and restrictions that disproportionately affected women and girls.