Andrew Saberton, deputy executive director for management at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has expressed concern over the lack of access for girls to education beyond grade six and its devastating impact on the country’s health sector.

In a meeting with Islamic Emirate officials, including Noor Jalal Jalali, the acting Minister of Public Health, he emphasized that the continued closure of educational doors will lead to a future shortage of midwives.

In a statement about his six-day trip to Afghanistan, Saberton stated: “In each of those [meetings] I raised the issue particularly of the exclusion of girls from education and training as midwives and in health facilities and particularly highlighted the fact that if education is stopping at grade six for girls, there will then be no pipeline for when midwives get older, retire in the future and the country and the services that were able to be provided will actually be catastrophically affected. I made this case and they understood this case, I'm not sure it will result in any particular action.”

“Our request to the Islamic Emirate is, first and foremost, to reopen the closed doors of education as soon as possible; we do not want to live in uncertainty anymore,” said Tafsir Siyahpoosh, a women’s rights activist.

Saberton also addressed the US aid cuts, noting that the US has suspended more than $330 million in funding to UNFPA, $102 million of which was allocated to Afghanistan.

He stated that in Afghanistan, a mother dies every two hours from preventable childbirth-related illnesses, and the budget cuts have deprived 6.3 million people of access to vital services.

According to the UN official, although 982 UNFPA centers were active in Afghanistan in 2024, only 418 health centers will remain by 2026.

Saberton said: “The US in its recent cuts has cut over 330 million in global funding to UNFPA to its cuts to its vital life-saving projects that were already underway or had been committed to be starting in the coming months. A third of those cuts were reflected in the Asia-Pacific region and Afghanistan was the hardest hit with cuts of 102 million. In Afghanistan this funding was mostly for the provision of family health houses and mobile health teams and psychosocial support services and now as a result of the cut 6.3 million people mostly women and girls are losing access to this life-saving care.”

“In the latest budget cuts, the United States has withdrawn over $330 million from its global funding to UNFPA. These cuts have impacted critical life-saving projects either underway or scheduled to launch in the coming months. One-third of these reductions have been applied in Asia, with Afghanistan suffering the most—a $102 million cut. This budget was primarily allocated for family health houses, mobile health teams, and psychosocial support services. As a result, 6.3 million people, mainly women and girls, have lost access to these essential services.”

The Islamic Emirate has called girls' education an internal matter. Previously, officials from the Ministry of Public Health stated that over 30,000 midwives in the country are awaiting employment opportunities.