Support Life-Saving efforts for Mothers & Newborns

Maternal and newborn health in Afghanistan in 2025 is under serious stress. While there has been progress over past decades (e.g. reductions in mortality), many gains are now threatened by funding cuts, restrictive policies, malnutrition, and weak infrastructure. Many deaths are preventable, but access to timely and quality care is shrinking, especially for women in remote or conservative areas.

This short report summarises the maternal health services delivered through our Comprehensive Health Centre inpatient midwifery service 2024 – 25 and our call to action for more investment in this urgently-needed and under-funded key priority areas affecting so many women and girls living in Afghanistan. 

Summary of Action for Development Service Offer

In September 2024, Action for Development opened a new midwifery inpatient unit within our Comprehensive Health Centre (CHC) in North Kabul, to support women and girls to improve their maternal health.  The CHC is located in an area which predominantly supports families who earn less than $2 per day and who have a high level of need to access quality local health services. 

Since September 2024, the midwifery inpatient unit has seen over 150 women a month and supported over 43 babies to be born safely within the unit.  This service was made possible through donor-funds received through our fund-raising channels.  However, during the same reporting period nearly 50 women were referred to other bigger hospitals. The reason behind the referrals was either a complication, high risk of c-section, prolonged delivery etc. This was due to the fact that our service is only able to provide for women who have a natural birth with no complications.  Our service isn’t able to support women presenting with complications because we don’t have the necessary equipment and or funding. 

To help us to secure funding for vital life-saving equipment,  the GlobalGiving Campaign ran to try to fund-raise to date.  This fund raised $15 which enabled us to buy one birthing kit for one of the mothers who safely delivered at our inpatient maternity service.  

Call to Action
There is an urgent need to invest now in maternal health and life-saving equipment in Afghanistan.  Preventable deaths among mothers and newborns are rising due to collapsing health services, severe shortages of trained staff and supplies, and growing barriers to care. Without immediate support, thousands of women and babies—especially in remote and underserved areas—will continue to die from complications that are entirely treatable with basic medical equipment and skilled care. Investing now is critical to saving lives and stabilizing a health system on the brink.  

The following items are examples of vital equipment and their cost which we desperately need to fund to support women and newborns more effectively: 

Capital Costs

Theatre renovation and sterilization setup $4,000 

Basic theatre equipment (lights, table, suction, instruments) $6,000

Baby incubator $3,500

Backup generator (diesel, 5kVA)  $3,000

Staffing Costs

On-call OBGYN (monthly salary) $500 (12 months will be $6,000)

Anesthetist (visiting/on-call)   $400 (12 months will be $4,800)

Recurring Costs

Oxygen cylinders (monthly refill) $150  (12 months will be $1,800)

Generator fuel and maintenance $200 (12 months will be $2,400)

Solar battery replacement and maintenance (annual) $2,600

Medical/surgical consumables $500 (12 months will be $6,000)

Please donate today and provide direct support to women and newborns in need.