While access to care has improved in recent years – antenatal care coverage has increased from 31% to 76% and skilled birth attendance from 24% to 67% since 2007/2008 – many women still face life-threatening risks during pregnancy and childbirth. While child mortality has declined from 129 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 56 in 2023, maternal mortality remains high at 521 deaths per 100 000 live births.In Afghanistan, 521 mother die in each 100000 life birth from preventable complications such as haemorrhage, hypertension, sepsis and obstructed labour. For many who survive, the consequences can be lifelong. Obstetric fistula, a severe injury caused mainly by prolonged obstructed labour, leads to continuous incontinence, chronic health problems and social stigma. Many women affected are isolated from their families and communities, unable to work and face deep psychological distress.Despite its devastating impact, fistula remains hidden and under-addressed. Women living with the condition often suffer in silence due to shame, limited access to specialized care and lack of awareness that treatment is possible.To respond to these pressing needs, WHO and IsDB are strengthening reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services, including training health workers, improving access to quality care and expanding specialized services.Two specialized obstetric fistula centres have been established, one at Rabia-e-Balkhi National Maternity Hospital in Kabul, the second at Mirwais Regional Hospital in Kandahar. The centres provide surgical repair alongside comprehensive care, including rehabilitation and support for social reintegration. The project is expected to directly benefit 300 fistula survivors and indirectly support around 300 000 women and girls of reproductive age.In parallel, more than 977 health workers have been trained to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care, helping prevent complications and ensure timely treatment. “No woman should be left without care during pregnancy and childbirth, and every newborn deserves the best possible start in life,” said WHO Representative in Afghanistan Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador. “With the valued support of IsDB, WHO is expanding access to essential services while ensuring that women affected by childbirth complications receive the care, dignity and support they deserve.”Through strong partnerships with national health authorities and the continued support of IsDB, this initiative is saving lives and helping women across Afghanistan regain their health and dignity. For more information, please contact:Mariam Amiry
RCCE Officer, WHO Afghanistan (Kabul)
Mob.: +93 784100496
E-mail: amirym@who.int  

The Afghanistan Community Resilience and Livelihoods Project (CRLP) was approved for $143 million grant consisting of $95 million approved by the World Bank Board of Directors while the additional $48 million was approved by the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF) Steering Committee.  Since April 2022, CRLP has created nearly 32 million days of paid work, supporting over 1.3 million vulnerable families, including direct employment for 80,000 women. Communities have rehabilitated or constructed more than 11,000 local assets, stimulating local economies and improving access to health care, education, markets and services for nearly 15.2 million people nationwide.Afghanistan continues to face severe economic pressure following reduced humanitarian and development aid, compounded by climate shocks and the return of around 2.1 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran in the first seven months of 2025 alone.“CRLP has demonstrated that even in a restrictive and complex environment, it is possible to deliver at scale by working through communities.” - Katy Webley, UNOPS Country Director in Afghanistan“By strengthening local capacity for inclusive aid delivery and sustainability of project interventions, the project has ensured that the most vulnerable people, and women in particular, benefit from all project activities,” she added.CRLP builds on and strengthens the capacity of community institutions to carry out activities related to project planning, implementation, monitoring and facilitating women and vulnerable groups to play an active role in decision-making, thereby ensuring they gain access to services, including health, nutrition, and jobs and livelihoods opportunities. For households unable to participate in cash-for-work activities, CRLP will expand the provision of social grants, ensuring continued support for the most vulnerable. Building on assistance already provided to 182,500 households—57 per cent of them headed by women—the project will further strengthen social protection as communities navigate ongoing economic pressures and displacement.“CRLP delivers multiple benefits for the communities we serve. Beyond direct assistance, the project is increasingly focused on stimulating local economies and strengthening resilience,” said Joyce Dalgliesh, Programme Director for CRLP.
 “By prioritizing local procurement and engaging Afghan private sector construction companies, CRLP will continue to generate ripple effects for small businesses and local suppliers.”The project will also scale up support for women’s home-based livelihoods, including poultry farming and kitchen gardening, building on training and start-up support already provided to 18,000 women to further improve food security and household incomes within existing social constraints.At the community level, expanded investments will continue to improve everyday life—from rehabilitated water reservoirs and channels that irrigate farmland to rehabilitated roads connecting remote villages to clinics and markets, while flood protection works will further strengthen communities’ ability to withstand seasonal risks.With this latest financing of $143 million, total funding for CRLP now stands at US$562 million, supporting activities in all 34 provinces and enabling the project to reach millions more Afghans with jobs, essential services and pathways toward resilience.

Kabul, Afghanistan – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of France are supporting earthquake-affected communities in eastern Afghanistan to restore food security, improve nutrition and protect livelihoods. The EUR 2 million initiative is supported by France under the French Initiative for Food Security and Nutrition (FIFSAN) and focuses on strengthening household food production, improving access to nutritious diets and essential services and reducing malnutrition, particularly among women and children.The project will reach 51 870 people in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, where families are still reeling from the August 2025 earthquake amid worsening acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Many households are rebuilding in communities that have seen recent displacement and forced returns, adding strain to already limited land, food and basic services. Implementation will focus on Chawaki and Nurgal districts of Kunar province and Dara-e-Nur district of Nangarhar province, where damage to productive assets has directly undermined families’ ability to feed themselves. At the wider community level, the reach is expected to extend indirectly to approximately 190 000 additional people, as food production, nutrition and essential services are strengthened across districts.The devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage to homes, cropland, food stocks, livestock assets, and critical health, nutrition and WASH infrastructure, compounding an already severe humanitarian situation. In rural areas of eastern Afghanistan, where families depend heavily on farming and livestock for both food and income, the damages and losses incurred have had lasting consequences.“Almost a year after the Nutrition for Growth summit held in Paris in March 2025, eradicating malnutrition in all its forms remains a priority for the French authorities. Through this project, France, FAO and UNICEF show that we can collectively bring concrete solutions for the Afghan people, who are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, and especially women and children” said Salina Grenet-Catalano, Director of Global Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and foreign affairs. “Food security and nutrition are not only humanitarian and development concerns. They are foundations for peace, social stability and collective security, shared by all.”Through integrated, gender-sensitive and community-based interventions, FAO and UNICEF will work to address both the immediate needs of the affected population and the long-lasting impact of the earthquake on food security and nutrition. The main objective of the project is consequently to reduce malnutrition among women, adolescent girls and children under five, while protecting livelihoods and strengthening local food systems, with a strong focus on women-headed households, pregnant and lactating women and families with young children. Using FAO’s Cash+ approach, the project combines unconditional cash transfers with livestock protection packages, backyard vegetable production, poultry support, technical training and tailored nutrition education. By promoting agroecological practices and safeguarding productive assets, the project aims to prevent negative coping strategies such as distress sales of livestock and essential resources.“When the earthquake struck, many families lost more than their homes. They lost the means to feed themselves,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan. “For rural communities, recovery often comes down to whether they can keep the few animals they have alive, plant again and get through the winter without giving up what little they have left. For women and young children, that can mean the difference between having enough to eat or going without. Targeted support like this, made possible through France’s commitment to food security and nutrition, gives families the space to recover with dignity rather than being pushed into choices that are difficult to undo.”UNICEF’s complementary interventions will strengthen community-based solutions to improve access to nutritious first foods and prevent child food poverty and malnutrition. The programme will support caregivers through counselling on optimal infant and young child feeding practices, empower youth through skills-development initiatives that generate innovative, locally led first foods solutions, and promote safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to ensure the safe preparation of complementary foods at household level. Where prevention is not sufficient, the programme will also ensure timely treatment for children suffering from life-threatening forms of wasting, helping to protect child survival while building longer-term resilience. “Far too many children in Afghanistan are being driven into malnutrition, and nearly 80 per cent of those affected are under the age of two, a critical window for survival and healthy development,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. “After the earthquakes and repeated shocks that have disrupted households, markets and access to food, the need for nutritious first foods, alongside services to prevent and treat malnutrition, has never been greater. Thanks to the support from France, UNICEF and FAO, with local partners, will strengthen multiple systems to protect young children and mothers from malnutrition and build resilience to future crises.”This joint initiative is part of a broader effort to address the underlying drivers of malnutrition in Afghanistan through agriculture, nutrition, health and water systems. Such coordinated support helps families meet immediate needs while maintaining the foundations for recovery. In a context where gains in food security and nutrition are fragile, targeted investments like this offer a cost-effective way to protect progress and prevent reversals.ContactsFAO Representation in Afghanistan
Giulia Ramadan El Sayed
Communications Sepcialist
giulia.ramadanelsayed@fao.org 
UNICEF in AfghanistanDaniel Timme
Chief of Communication
dtimme@unicef.org  Directorate for Global AffairsMinistry for Europe and foreign affairs of France secretariat.dgm-dag@diplomatie.gouv.fr

Rome/Kabul – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are implementing a $100 million initiative to bolster food and nutrition security and restore agricultural livelihoods for more than one million vulnerable people across Afghanistan.Over the next two years, the project will support more than 151 000 households (or 1 057 000 people), including returnees from Pakistan and Iran, host communities and families affected by recent earthquakes and floods. The initiative will help rural households restore livelihoods, protect livestock, and rebuild disrupted agricultural production systems.Addressing multiple, compounding crisesAgriculture remains the backbone of Afghanistan’s rural economy, yet it continues to struggle with low productivity, limited access to inputs and restricted market opportunities. Repeated natural disasters have destroyed crops, livestock assets and irrigation infrastructure, while large-scale return movements from neighboring countries have placed additional pressure on already vulnerable host communities.Large-scale life-saving agricultural support and food assistance delivered at the height of the food crisis helped curb acute food insecurity nationwide. However, conditions have since deteriorated again. In 2026, 17.4 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity, including 4.7 million in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), characterized by wide food consumption gaps and high acute malnutrition. Persistent  drought conditions, combined with anticipated La Niña impacts bringing below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures into early 2026, are further heightening risks. With millions of Afghans already facing mounting pressures and at risk of slipping into deeper acute food insecurity and malnutrition, there is an urgent need for sustained investment that goes beyond emergency response to strengthen long-term resilience. This initiative prioritizes climate-smart and people-centered interventions to boost agricultural production, improve food and nutrition security and diversify rural livelihoods. Special attention will be given to the most vulnerable communities, particularly women-headed households and communities in provinces most affected by climate and economic shocks.Fostering sustainable growth in AfghanistanThe project marks another milestone in the strong partnership between FAO and ADB in Afghanistan. Since 2022, ADB has provided approximately USD 265 million in grants through FAO to strengthen agricultural production and curb acute food insecurity across the country.Through this collaboration, FAO has reached an estimated 5. 6 million vulnerable people, supporting more than 841 000 households in restoring crop and livestock production, improving food security and nutrition and stabilizing food supply chains during a period of severe humanitarian crisis.FAO assistance packages have demonstrated strong cost-effectiveness and lasting impact. For around USD 200, a wheat cultivation package can feed a family of seven for an entire year, meeting 70 percent of daily energy needs. Farmers using FAO-certified seeds achieved 27 percent higher yields, with each household producing an extra 360 kg of wheat – enough to feed two additional people annually. These packages also generate sufficient quality seed for three to four subsequent seasons, ensuring lasting gains. Livestock support has increased herd ownership by 50 percent and improved household nutrition through increased milk and meat consumption. “Our partnership with ADB is delivering real, measurable results for farming families across Afghanistan,” said QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General. “From the outset, this collaboration has focused not only on meeting immediate food security needs but also on closing Afghanistan’s food production gap and creating space for private sector recovery. With ADB, we have enabled millions of rural households to access the tools and resources they need to grow food, protect their animals and ensure their families have enough nutritious food. This project deepens our shared commitment by expanding support beyond emergency needs toward more diversified, agriculture-based livelihoods, strengthening crop and livestock production, post-harvest activities and market opportunities, with a particular focus on women who play a central role across Afghanistan’s farming and livestock sectors,” he added. By bridging immediate food security support with longer-term resilience-building, the initiative aims to ensure that families not only recover, but are better equipped to withstand future shocks in a highly vulnerable context. Read more about FAO’s contribution to the agricultural sector in Afghanistan.Photos and videos available for broadcasters. ContactGiulia Ramadan El SayedCommunications SpecialistFAO in Afghanistangiulia.ramadanelsayed@fao.orgFAO Representation in AfghanistanFAO-AF@fao.org FAO News and Media(+39) 06 570 53625FAO-Newsroom@fao.org