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UNFPA in Afghanistan

UNFPA in Afghanistan

UNFPA in Afghanistan

The United Nations Population Fund is the UN agency which leads global efforts to help ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA is mandated by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, to support universal primary education, reduce infant and child mortality, reduce maternal mortality, and increase access to reproductive health services including family planning. The Cairo Consensus placed these population and development issues within a human rights-based framework, and UNFPA is committed to integrating human rights into its work globally.

Key SDGs that UNFPA contributes to:
GOAL 3:  Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality education
GOAL 5: Gender equality

The overall goal of UNFPA’s interventions in the humanitarian context in Afghanistan is to provide life-saving reproductive health services and respond to women's psychosocial support needs through qualified women service providers to the affected population, especially women, girls and young people. This is based on the concept of "by women, for women." 

Since August 2021, Afghanistan continues to grapple with significant humanitarian needs. Millions of Afghans face challenges in accessing basic needs and life-saving services, particularly in the health sector. Afghanistan has one of the highest Maternal Mortality Ratios in the world with 620 deaths per 100,000 live births, making it one of the most challenging places in the world to be a pregnant woman. Preventable maternal complications claim the life of a woman every two hours in Afghanistan.

UNFPA is present in all regions in Afghanistan with field offices in the following provinces: Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat, Bamyan, Mazar-e-Sharif and Faizabad.

Key lifesaving interventions

  • Provide life-saving maternal and reproductive health services
  • Provide life-saving psychosocial support services for women and girls
  • Provide life-saving adolescents and youth reproductive health services
  • Ensure a consistent availability of emergency reproductive health supplies

Community-centered approach

UNFPA delivers its work by applying a community-centered approach that takes into consideration the cross-cutting principles of Accountability to Affected Populations, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and Disability Inclusion.

Key Results

Afghanistan

Population projections

Publically available population projections at national and subnational levels, disaggregated by age, sex, location were generated

Afghanistan

Fistula treatment

252

Fistula repair surgeries provided with the support of UNFPA

Afghanistan

Minimum Initial Services Package

20

Health service providers and managers were trained on the minimum initial service package

Afghanistan

Child, early and forced marriage

1,663

Girls received, with support from UNFPA, prevention, protection services, and/or care related to child, early, and forced marriage

What we do

UNFPA works in more than 150 countries and territories that are home to the vast majority of the world’s people. Its mission: to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

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UNFPA in CO
Country Representative

Country Representative

Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah

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Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah is the UNFPA Representative in Afghanistan. He has served as Representative in Rwanda, Representative a.i. in Malaysia and Country Director a.i. Thailand. Prior to that Mr. Asante-Ntiamoah, was the Deputy Country Representative of UNFPA in Afghanistan and also served in the same capacity in Cameroon.
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