Dear fellow citizens, friends of humanity, and members of the international community
Afghanistan, a nation defined by resilience through decades of war, now faces an invisible but deadly enemy, cancer and preventable diseases. Each year, nearly 20,000 Afghans die from cancer alone, with women and children already marginalized under Taliban rule bearing the heaviest burden. What could have been a public health challenge has become a humanitarian, political, and moral crisis.
Decades of conflict have weakened Afghanistan’s infrastructure, but the current crisis is amplified by systematic neglect and extremist governance. Under Taliban rule, healthcare institutions are no longer led by trained professionals but by religious and militant overseers. Scientific research has vanished, data collection for disease prevention has stopped, and hospitals struggle to provide even basic care.
Education, particularly for girls and women, has been suppressed, further eroding the country’s capacity to respond to its health crises. The Kabul Cancer Registry (KCR) offers stark evidence of this crisis: between 2018–2020, it recorded 19,450 cancer cases, with breast cancer leading among women (21%) and stomach cancer among men (17%).
Diagnostic and treatment services remain extremely limited, and palliative care is minimal. This is not only a national tragedy but also a global responsibility. Humanitarian aid alone cannot address a crisis born of political repression.
Coordinated international action is urgently needed: medical support must be expanded, healthcare infrastructure restored, women’s access to education and healthcare secured, and health policy rigorously monitored. Indifference is not neutrality it is complicity. The world must act now to uphold the basic human right to life for every Afghan.
A Nation in Peril and The Rise of a Silent Killer
Afghanistan’s history over the past four decades has been dominated by conflict, political instability, and humanitarian crises. Amidst visible destructionbombed hospitals, destroyed infrastructure, and refugee displacement an invisible crisis has grown unchecked: cancer and critical non-communicable diseases.
Annual mortality: 20,000 Afghan lives lost to cancer.
Most affected groups: Women and children.
Health system collapse: Hospitals and clinics under militant control, doctors and nurses powerless.
Cancer has emerged as a public health emergency in a nation where preventable diseases spread unchecked, vaccines are limited, and basic medical infrastructure has been destroyed. Afghanistan, a country once striving to build a sustainable healthcare system, now faces near-total incapacity for disease prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.
The Humanitarian Dimensions: Women and Children at the Frontline
Under Taliban rule, women and children have become primary victims of systemic oppression:
Education banned for women: Universities and medical schools remain closed.
Healthcare workforce depleted: Female nurses, midwives, and physicians have been excluded from training and professional roles.
Generational loss: Young women, who could have contributed to public health recovery, are prevented from participating in society. The exclusion of women from education and healthcare provision is a public health disaster.
Studies globally have demonstrated that women’s participation in health systems correlates with improved maternal and child health outcomes, reduced mortality, and more effective disease prevention. By sidelining half its population, Afghanistan is compounding the effects of war and poverty, creating a vicious cycle of preventable death.
Political Neglect as a Public Health Crisis
The collapse of Afghanistan’s healthcare system is not accidental; it is the result of deliberate political policies prioritizing ideology over public welfare. Key consequences include, Doctors and health administrators have lost decision-making authority.
Destruction of data systems because without accurate national data, disease burden assessment and resource allocation are impossible. Halted medical training and research, Generational knowledge transfer has ceased. Preventable disease mortality because cancer patients die untreated infectious diseases go unchecked.
International inaction compounds this crisis. While global actors were heavily engaged during the two decades of post-Taliban reconstruction, the withdrawal of sustained support has left Afghanistan abandoned at its most vulnerable hour.
Evidence from the Kabul Cancer Registry
The Kabul Cancer Registry (KCR) is Afghanistan’s first multi-institutional attempt to document the country’s cancer burden. Between 2018 and 2020, the KCR collected data from major tertiary hospitals, including Jamhuriat, Ali Abad, FMIC, and Istiqlal.
Total cases registered: 19,450 Most common cancers in women: Breast (21%), cervical, and ovarian cancers. Most common cancers in men: Stomach (17%), esophageal, and lung cancers. Male-to-female ratio: 1.08:1and there are limited diagnostics availability.
Treatment capacity: Surgery often without registered surgical oncologists, limited chemotherapy, radiotherapy requiring referrals abroad, and rudimentary palliative care.
Implications
Surveillance gap: National cancer data remains incomplete, making planning impossible.
Treatment limitations: Lack of trained personnel and infrastructure leaves patients with little hope for effective therapy.
Research vacuum: No ongoing epidemiological studies or clinical trials to guide evidence-based interventions.
Global Health Implications, The Moral and Political Imperative and Policy Priorities for Immediate Action
Afghanistan’s cancer crisis is part of a larger global pattern: low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden of non-communicable diseases due to limited diagnostic and treatment capacities. Afghanistan exemplifies the extreme case: decades of war, compounded by political oppression and international neglect, have created conditions where preventable death has become routine.
The consequences are not only moral but also strategic: unchecked health crises can lead to regional instability, refugee flows, and the spread of preventable diseases, further burdening neighboring countries and the global community. Saving Afghan lives is both a moral duty and a political necessity.
Every day that passes without decisive action, thousands of Afghans die unnecessarily. International inaction signals tolerance for a regime that prioritizes ideology over human life. Humanitarian engagement alone is insufficient. Coordinated political pressure, education access, and oversight mechanisms are essential to restore basic health rights and prevent further loss of life.
Establish an International Health Task Force for Afghanistan and Support the Education and Empowerment of Afghan Women Led by WHO, UN agencies, and regional health authorities. Coordinate cancer care, infectious disease control, vaccination, and medical training programs.
Ensure apolitical, neutral healthcare delivery through verified local partners and NGOs. Immediate reopening of universities and medical faculties for women. Funding online and cross-border educational programs for Afghan girls and women in exile or under restriction. Targeted scholarships for healthcare professions to rebuild national capacity.
Reinforce Accountability and Oversight and Expand Humanitarian Corridors for Medical Aid and Mobilize Global Awareness and Political Pressure.
International monitoring mechanisms for healthcare operations in Afghanistan.
Public reporting on Taliban violations of the right to health and education under UN frameworks.
Integration of human rights compliance into all humanitarian aid agreements.
Ensure the delivery of cancer medicines, diagnostics, and supplies through neutral channels.
Partner with neighboring countries for patient transfer to accessible treatment centers.
Establish mobile diagnostic and treatment units for rural populations. Governments, media, and civil society must spotlight the Afghan health crisis.
Link humanitarian engagement to political negotiations with Taliban authorities.
Encourage international funding for both short-term relief and long-term health system rebuilding.
The Role of the International Community
The Afghan crisis is a test of global justice. Humanity cannot claim moral leadership while tolerating systemic oppression that denies life, health, and education. International actors UN agencies, human rights organizations, NGOs, and governments must coordinate to:
Restore health services and surveillance systems.
Empower women and children to participate in education and healthcare.
Monitor compliance with international human rights standards.
Provide sustainable funding for infrastructure, personnel, and treatment access. Failure to act will normalize neglect, embolden authoritarian regimes, and leave millions of lives at risk.
Afghanistan is calling out to the world The right to life, The right to health and The right to education. Indifference is no longer acceptable. Immediate, coordinated international action is required to expand medical aid and treatment infrastructure, reopen educational institutions, especially for women, Establish oversight and accountability mechanisms, Ensure humanitarian corridors for diagnostics and medicines and Mobilize global advocacy and political engagement Every day of delay results in thousands of preventable deaths.
The lives of tens of thousands of Afghans and the moral credibility of the world depend on decisive action now. Afghanistan, a nation long defined by resilience amidst conflict, faces an existential health crisis. Cancer is a silent killer, claiming nearly 20,000 lives annually. Decades of war, compounded by deliberate political oppression under Taliban rule, have dismantled the healthcare system, silenced women, and eliminated research and education capacities.
The international community must recognize that saving Afghan lives is both a moral obligation and a political responsibility. Humanitarian aid, education, oversight, and advocacy are not optional they are obligations to humanity itself. Indifference is deadly. The time to act is now. Afghans have the right to live. They have the right to protection from disease. They have the right to be seen, supported, and heard by the world. Every life saved is a testament to justice, human rights, and global solidarity.
Saving Afghan lives is not an act of mercy. It is an act of justice.
Dear reader,
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