UN Warns Pregnant Women’s Health at Risk in Afghanistan

By Fidel Rahmati
April 7, 2026

Pregnant women in Afghanistan must have uninterrupted access to health services, the U.N. Population Fund said on Monday, warning that maternal care is a life-saving necessity in a country with one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. The agency’s message came as concerns mounted over new restrictions affecting women’s access to reproductive and maternity care.

UNFPA said access to maternal health care is “non-negotiable,” stressing that Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be pregnant. According to UNFPA’s Afghanistan profile, the country records about 620 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and a woman dies from preventable pregnancy-related complications roughly every two hours.

Continued: https://www.khaama.com/un-warns-pregnant-womens-health-at-risk-in-afghanistan/

07.04.2026

Special edition: A tale of two movements — all at the same time

At the Commission on the Status of Women, the tangle over money, policy, and influence is shaping the future of women’s rights.

By Elissa Miolene
13 March 2026

The 70th Commission on the Status of Women has hit its halfway mark, with a historic vote on Monday foreshadowing a division that only grew throughout the week.

On one side, there’s the United Nations, large international aid agencies, and a collection of countries — from Sweden to Spain — that are pushing for more progressive women’s rights. On the other hand, there’s a constellation of nations, faith-based groups, and anti-abortion activists that are advocating for family values, while accusing the U.N. of indoctrinating developing nations when it comes to sex, abortion, and gender identity.

Continued: https://www.devex.com/news/special-edition-a-tale-of-two-movements-all-at-the-same-time-112072

Contraceptive shortages are driving up abortions in Nepal

Abortion rate has risen by over 31 percent in four years, and experts say unsafe abortions could put maternal health at risk.

Arjun Poudel
January 2, 2026

Amid a shortage of family planning commodities, including birth control shots and implants, health facilities across the country are reporting a sharp rise in abortions.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Population, 105,099 women terminated their pregnancies in the fiscal year 2023-24, up from 94,463 in the fiscal year 2022-23. In the fiscal year 2021-22, a total of 90,733 women underwent abortion, while the number stood at 79,972 in the fiscal year 2020-21.

Continued: https://kathmandupost.com/health/2026/01/02/contraceptive-shortages-are-driving-up-abortions-in-nepal

02.01.2026

Family Planning Association of Nepal

maternal mortality

Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act

UN Population Fund

unintended pregnancies

Mobile Clinics Close in Madagascar as Aid Cuts Reduce Reproductive Health Services

Cuts to mobile clinic funding are leading to more unwanted pregnancies and unsafe births.

By Sarah El Gharib
October 30, 2025

When her mobile clinic shut down, Herisoa Bodo’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. A client due for implant removal reached out again and again. The appointment never happened — and she became pregnant.

Bodo, a midwife with Marie Stopes International (MSI) Madagascar since 2012, kept fielding calls long after outreach teams had been forced to suspend services. “Women kept calling because they couldn’t find care,” she said. Her routes cover Analamanga, the region surrounding the capital Antananarivo, where MSI deploys buses converted into clinics and 4x4 teams into rural communities. For many women, those visits are the only reliable chance to see a midwife.

Continued: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/madagascar-mobile-clinics-close-due-to-aid-cuts/

Contraceptives are essential and life-saving – and they are under threat globally

30 October 2025
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita

Contraceptives save lives. For almost 50 years, global health authorities have recognized contraception as essential medicine. People want them, use them, and rely on them every day.

The evidence is abundantly clear: When women and adolescent girls have access to contraceptives, their pregnancies are more likely to be planned and safe, they are more likely to complete school, be employed and fulfil their potential, their children are healthier, and their societies are more prosperous. The truth is that contraceptives reduce abortion rates and lower the incidence of death and disability related to complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Continued; https://www.unfpa.org/press/contraceptives-are-essential-and-life-saving-%E2%80%93-and-they-are-under-threat-globally

30.10.2025

News

contraception is essential medicine

The silent crisis: Abortion and reproductive rights in Turkmenistan

Turkmen women today are worse off than their grandmothers.

Aigerim Turgunbaeva
Aug 5, 2025

An overly restrictive reproductive health framework in Turkmenistan is contributing to societal dysfunction, rights advocates contend.

Turkmenistan’s population growth rate has been stagnating in recent years, falling to its lowest level (1.84 percent) in 2023 since the hardship years following the Soviet Union’s breakup in the 1990s. A decade ago, the growth rate stood at 2.29 percent. The country’s authoritarian-minded leadership is resorting to draconian policies to force women to have more babies out of an apparent desire to bolster population growth. Access to reproductive health information is limited in the country, and only an estimated 47 percent of women are using contraceptives. Since the adoption of amendments in 2015, abortion is legal in Turkmenistan only up to the fifth week of pregnancy—a timeframe before many women even know they are pregnant. The five-week limit is the lowest in the world.

Continued: https://eurasianet.org/the-silent-crisis-abortion-and-reproductive-rights-in-turkmenistan

06.08.2025

Commentary

5-week abortion ban

Amnesty International

Aynabat Yaylymova

domestic abuse

Progres Foundation

UN Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

The US denies UN agency funding to provide care to pregnant women around the world

Sunday 11 May 2025

The Trump administration continues to withdraw funding to American and international organisations that pursue policies on sexuality, diversity, and minority rights that contradict its isolationist and conservative agenda.

Since February, the US has cut $377 million worth of funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN reproductive and sexual health agency. On Thursday, the US announced that it intended to deny future funding to UNFPA by triggering the so-called Kemp-Kasten Amendment from 1985.

Continued: https://www.brusselstimes.com/health-news/1573960/the-us-denies-un-agency-funding-to-provide-care-to-pregnant-women-around-the-world

11.05.2025

News

funding cuts for abortion research

Kemp-Kasten amendment

How will Canada lead on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the era of Trump?

Barely two months into his Presidency, Donald Trump has devastated global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

by Jacqueline Potvin
March 21, 2025

On January 24, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy (the “global gag rule,”) which restricts US global health funding from going to any non-government organization that provides abortion services, advocacy, or information.

This reinstatement will harm women and people who can become pregnant, limiting their access to important healthcare information and services. Its effects will be exacerbated by wide-sweeping cuts to US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding and staff. These moves come at a time when Canada’s own commitments to global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), which have recently been strong, may be at risk.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/human-rights/how-will-canada-lead-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-the-era-of-trump/

‘Grave and Serious Moment’ for Reproductive Rights

Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of the global reproductive justice organisation Ipas, outlines the impact of a global clampdown on abortion

27/11/2024
Kerry Cullinan

“Unsafe abortion remains a leading cause of maternal mortality, and it is entirely preventable,” says Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of Ipas, an international reproductive justice organisation. “So there is something we can do about it. We know what to do and we know how to do it. We just need to do it.”

But Kumar concedes that the election of Donald Trump as United States (US) President has ushered in a “pretty grave and serious moment”.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/grave-and-serious-moment-for-reproductive-rights/

Armenia, selective abortion remains a concern

Once a widespread phenomenon in Armenia, selective abortion has declined in the last decade. However, according to the data up to 2022, the practice of prenatal selection based on gender has started again

22/08/2023
Armine Avetisyan Yerevan

Selective abortion has been an issue in Armenia in recent years. As a result of efforts by the government and the private sector, it seemed that many families had given up on the idea of having only a male child, but after the war of 2020 the issue has become relevant again. There are still families in Armenia who choose selective abortion.

Filling the loss
“My brother died in 2020. It was a war. I missed my brother, I was looking for his replacement everywhere...”, Gayane (the name is changed), 38, who is pregnant and expecting a boy, begins her story.

Continued: https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Armenia/Armenia-selective-abortion-remains-a-concern-226673

22.08.2023