Afghan Women First Victims of Humanitarian Aid Cuts

Kabul Times News | 2026-05-12

Kabul – Women and girls are the most affected by the global reduction in humanitarian aid and development projects, a crisis that has also hit Afghanistan hard, the international aid organization CARE has warned in a new report.

According to the report, released on Tuesday, women and girls in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, the Gaza Strip and Myanmar are on the front lines of vulnerability, and their access to basic services has been severely limited by the interruption or reduction of aid programs.

Inge Kawer, the director of CARE Netherlands, who visited Afghanistan last week, told NU.nl:
“When aid programs are stopped, women and girls are often the first to lose access to health care, income, support and education.”

During the trip, he visited a pediatric malnutrition clinic in Afghanistan, where severely malnourished children, especially newborns, are treated.

Referring to the critical condition of the children at the center, Kawar said:
“We saw a seven-month-old baby who was brought to the clinic two weeks ago weighing only three kilograms, which is very dangerous. Fortunately, the child has recovered in recent days. This shows how vital and effective such centers are.”

However, the clinic is now at risk of closure, as it has only been funded for six months by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The director of CARE Netherlands has warned that the cessation of funding could endanger the lives of thousands of vulnerable children and women. He added:
“It is deeply concerning that opportunities to save children’s lives are being destroyed because of budget cuts and the cessation of financial support.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also announced that some 422 health clinics across Afghanistan have been forced to close in the past year, a matter that is partly linked to the reduction in international aid and the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Experts warn that continuing this trend will deepen the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and that women and children will continue to be the biggest victims.