Bruno Lemarquis, the UN Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, said more than 700 health facilities, accounting for 40% of the country's primary healthcare centres, have closed between 2025 and 2026 due to cuts in international funding.
Speaking at a press briefing in New York on Friday, 6 November, Lemarquis said the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls had severely limited their access to education, employment, public services and participation in social life.
He said the Taliban's continued restrictions on the fundamental rights of women and girls had further deepened Afghanistan's international isolation.
The UN Deputy Special Representative added that the ban on Afghan female employees entering UN premises, imposed in September 2025, remained in place and had also affected the organisation's operations.
Lemarquis warned that declining international funding had made Afghanistan's humanitarian situation increasingly difficult. According to him, humanitarian assistance funding had fallen from $2 billion in 2023 to $570 million in 2026.
