The year 2024 witnessed substantial changes in Afghanistan's health sector. Key issues included the closure of medical institutions to women, the launch of polio vaccination campaigns, limited access to standard healthcare services, especially in remote areas, and global concerns over maternal mortality and child malnutrition.

The closure of medical training institutions to women was neither officially confirmed nor denied by the Islamic Emirate.

However, female students reported being given a ten-day period to complete their exams.

Haida, a midwifery student, spoke to TOLOnews on December 4 about the closure of medical institutes to women, stating: "When we came to the institute the next day, the director told us not to come anymore, as the institutes were closed. Later, they gave us a ten-day period to take our exams."

This decision sparked both domestic and international reactions.

Organizations such as UNAMA, Amnesty International, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Médecins Sans Frontières, foreign ministers of France and Germany, former President Hamid Karzai, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, UNICEF, and others called for a reconsideration of this policy.