The paper discusses the impact of interrupted healthcare funding in Afghanistan post the collapse of the government, leading to decreased health service utilization and excess mortality.
The research paper focuses on the repercussions of disrupted healthcare funding in Afghanistan following the collapse of the government in August 2021. The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, managed by the World Bank through Sehatmandi, played a crucial role in financing health services, particularly in infant, child, and maternal health. The study conducted a cross-sectional analysis comparing health service utilization from June to September in 2019, 2020, and 2021, revealing a significant decline in health service uptake after funding cessation. The Lives Saved Tool was utilized to estimate the additional maternal, neonatal, and child mortality resulting from reduced health coverage, projecting alarming figures of excess deaths if funding interruptions persist. The findings underscore the critical need to sustain current health service delivery levels to avert preventable morbidity and mortality in Afghanistan, emphasizing the detrimental impact of funding pauses on maternal, neonatal, and child health outcomes.