BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – “If I had left, a mother or a baby could have died. I stayed because people, especially pregnant women, needed my support.”

Mariza Ahmadi had been working as a midwife at the Ahangaran family health house in Bamyan Province for just one year when the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021. As foreign troops suddenly withdrew, life for millions of Afghans descended into chaos – especially for women and girls.

“I was worried, but I couldn’t leave because people needed our services – pregnant women were worried about where to deliver as health facilities were closing,” Ms. Ahmadi told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. “So I didn’t close the family health house.”

Public health workers were severely affected by the takeover, as hospitals and clinics were either forced to close or rendered non-functional and their staff could no longer make it to work safely.

One of the women who sought help at the Ahangaran clinic was 29-year-old Sughra, who was nine months pregnant. 

“A few days earlier, I had gone to the provincial hospital in Bamyan City, but staff told me they weren’t sure whether they would remain open in the following days,” Ms. Sughra explained.