Human Rights Watch Urges Governments to Press Taliban at Doha Conference

(New York) –Human Rights Watch has sounded the alarm on Afghanistan’s healthcare crisis, attributing it to a sharp reduction in foreign assistance and severe abuses against women and girls by the Taliban. The resulting catastrophe has left millions of Afghans vulnerable to malnutrition and illness, the organization stated in a report released today.

Titled “A Disaster for the Foreseeable Future: Afghanistan’s Healthcare Crisis,” the 38-page report outlines the detrimental impact of Afghanistan’s economic collapse following the Taliban’s assumption of power in August 2021. The decision of donors to slash humanitarian aid has exacerbated the situation, causing a deterioration in healthcare access, economic instability, and heightened food insecurity. The Taliban’s oppressive policies, particularly their ban on women’s education and employment, have further exacerbated the crisis, leading to shortages of female healthcare workers in the foreseeable future.

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, emphasized the catastrophic toll of the loss of foreign development aid and Taliban rights violations, particularly on women and girls. She highlighted how the Taliban’s obstruction of women from providing or accessing healthcare, coupled with soaring treatment and medicine costs, has pushed healthcare out of reach for many Afghans.

A 54-year-old man living with a kidney infection said, “Since the Taliban took over, the price of my medications has nearly doubled. This is too much for anyone who doesn’t have a job.”

Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with Afghan and foreign aid officials, healthcare workers, and individuals seeking healthcare across 16 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces between February 2023 and January 2024.

The organization has called on governments to urge Taliban leaders to lift restrictions hindering access to healthcare, including bans on women’s education and employment, at the planned February 18 meeting of special envoys organized by the United Nations. Additionally, they have urged attention to structural issues undermining Afghanistan’s economic stability, including those affecting water management, electrical supply, and the banking system.

The United Nations estimates that more than half of Afghanistan’s population—23.7 million people—will require humanitarian assistance in 2024. While humanitarian agencies provide life-saving assistance, they cannot fully replace the essential services previously dependent on donor support.

The Taliban’s prohibition on women’s employment with humanitarian agencies has compounded the crisis, creating further barriers to equitable assistance delivery and depriving women and their families of income. Stringent hijab and mahram regulations have hindered women from traveling for work or medical treatment.

A doctor in Samangan said: “The Taliban have instructed us not to treat any female patient who is not accompanied by a mahram or is not in full hijab.”

People with disabilities are among the most severely affected by Afghanistan’s healthcare crisis, with the disappearance of services for physical rehabilitation and mental health support due to aid shortages.

Abbasi emphasized the need for sustainable efforts to avert further economic decline and alleviate the immense suffering of the Afghan population, stating that “The situation demands more than humanitarian aid.”