Healthcare Access in Afghanistan Crisis 2026

Afghanistan’s health system remains in severe crisis, with 2025 funding cuts causing widespread clinic suspensions and service losses. WHO reported in March 2025 that 167 health facilities had shut down across 25 provinces, cutting off lifesaving care for 1.6 million people, and warned that more than 220 additional facilities could close by June if funding was not restored. Later 2025 health-cluster reporting showed the disruption had widened substantially, with 422 facilities suspended or closed by late June and 445 by December, affecting about 3.08 million people across 30 of 34 provinces. The crisis has also been driven by disease outbreaks and very low immunization coverage. WHO reported more than 16,000 suspected measles cases and 111 measles deaths in the first two months of 2025, alongside outbreaks of malaria, dengue, polio, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; measles vaccination coverage was only 51% for the first dose and 37% for the second. WHO’s 2026 Health Emergency Appeal says 14.4 million people need health assistance in Afghanistan in 2026, with funding cuts, disease outbreaks, food insecurity, and climate shocks all worsening the situation.