A young child rests in the ICU at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Kabul, receiving critical care and oxygen therapy 31 July 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – The new oxygen plant – the result of a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) –at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH) in...

26 December 2024, Afghanistan’s health system is under immense pressure. In 2023, nearly two-thirds of the population – 28.3 million people – required humanitarian assistance, with more than 17 million in need of essential health services. For many families, especially women and children in remote and underserved areas, access to care is at best...

52 year old Bibi Maryam from Paktia Province receives hepatitis treatment at the National Infectious Disease Hospital in Kabul27 July 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – Hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination, and highly effective and affordable treatments for both hepatitis B and C are now available in generic form. Yet the World Health...

A dedicated healthcare provider conducting routine visits monitoring patient conditions at the Drug Addiction Treatment Centre. Photo credit: WHO Afghanistan 16 July 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan—At just 20, Nasrin from a quiet village in Bamyan had already lived through the darkness of drug dependence. What began with a single pill offered by someone...

8 July 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan – The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan is deeply concerned about the health needs of Afghan returnees, particularly women and children, who have been arriving in record numbers through border points with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. Since April 2025, more than 836 000 returnees have...

Residents of a remote village of Khost province gather to discuss health topics with community mobilizers. Photo credit: WHO Social Mobilizer 07 July 2025, Kabul, Afghanistan– For the inhabitants of Kaskay, a remote village deep in the mountains of Gurbaz district in Khost province, seeing a doctor or accessing vaccinations for children often felt...

25 May 2025, Baghlan, Afghanistan – Over the past 2 weeks, local health workers in Baghlan Province have been walking through the streets, knocking on doors, speaking in mosques, visiting schools and gathering with people in markets and homes. Their goal – to help their communities protect themselves from potentially fatal diseases like...

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...