Maternal and Child Health

In a landmark public health achievement, the World Health Organization (WHO) has validated the Maldives for eliminating mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of hepatitis B.

The launch, done together with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in Bhutan,  coincides with UNICEF’s new global child nutrition report, which finds that overweight and obesity are rising fast among children, including in Bhutan.

With each mother who learns to cook a new, nutritious meal, and each spoonful of semolina porridge lovingly fed to a child, the cycle of poverty and poor health begins to break.

Daniyal’s arrival is not a miracle story – it's a chilling symbol of the desperate circumstances confronting Afghan refugees in Pakistan today.

In 2023 alone, roughly 260,000 women worldwide died during or shortly after childbirth, with 22 per cent (about 58,000 maternal deaths) occurring in the Asia-Pacific – many of which were preventable with timely midwife-led care.

Meanwhile, the de facto authorities have conveyed grievances around frozen assets, sanctions, non-recognition, the need for greater development assistance, and an end to aid dependency.

In Upper Kohistan, 98 out of 718 babies – roughly 13.65 per cent – were born underweight, making it the most affected district in the province. Kolai Palas followed with a 9.04 per cent rate (34 out of 376), while Upper Chitral recorded 76 such cases out of 1,212 births, translating to 6.27 per cent.

The decline in support follows the suspension of US assistance, which previously accounted for nearly half of the international funding directed toward Afghanistan’s healthcare.