{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T23:34:16Z","timestamp":1785540856572,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Intl J Gynecology &amp;amp; Obste"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This article synthesizes recent peer\u2010reviewed studies and institutional reports on maternal mortality following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and compares emerging patterns with the first Taliban period (1996\u20132001), when maternal mortality reached some of the highest levels recorded in conflict settings. Multiple data sources indicate worsening conditions after 2021, including sharp reductions in service utilization following funding interruptions, reported declines in access to antenatal and intrapartum care, and clinician\u2010reported increases in delays and life\u2010threatening obstetric complications. Modeling based on routine health data suggests that sustained reductions in coverage could result in thousands of additional maternal deaths annually. The acute difference between Afghanistan, especially since 2021, and many other fragile settings is that gender\u2010based restrictions specifically target women's and girls' education, employment, and movement, directly affecting demand\u2010side access and supply\u2010side staffing capacity for maternal care, thus offending Afghanistan's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ijgo.71049","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T05:54:08Z","timestamp":1777614848000},"page":"1639-1645","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Preventable maternal mortality in Afghanistan: Trends, lessons, and recommendations"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"173","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6671-5557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad S.","family":"Razai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care University of Cambridge  Cambridge UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8692-9720","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seyed Aria","family":"Nejadghaderi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HIV\/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health Kerman University of Medical Sciences  Kerman Iran"},{"name":"Knowledge Hub for Migrant and Refugee Health, Institute for Futures Studies in Health Kerman University of Medical Sciences  Kerman Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5482-1000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Soghra","family":"Khaliqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children  Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-2848-5148","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ghizal","family":"Haress","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Law University of Toronto  Toronto Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8269-0276","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca J.","family":"Cook","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Law University of Toronto  Toronto Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_14_2_1","volume-title":"The Global Health Observatory","author":"World Health Organization"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_3_1","volume-title":"Strategies Towards Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM)","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2015"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ijgo.70344"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0277-9536(94)90226-7"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_6_1","unstructured":"World Bank Group.Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate per 100 000 live births). Accessed April 8 2026.https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/SH.STA.MMRT"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(05)71044-8"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(16)30002-X"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13031-023-00522-z"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.26719\/emhj.23.017"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_11_1","volume-title":"Maternal Mortality in 2005","author":"WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and The World Bank","year":"2007"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2019-002126"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_13_1","volume-title":"Trends in Maternal Mortality Estimates 2000 to 2023: Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA\/Population Division","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2025"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fgwh.2021.610578"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ijgo.14979"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_16_1","unstructured":"United Nations Human Rights Council.Report on women's and girls' right to health in Afghanistan. Report of the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett.2026. Accessed April 8 2026.https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/hrbodies\/hrcouncil\/sessions\u2010regular\/session61\/advance\u2010version\/a\u2010hrc\u201061\u201063\u2010auv.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6874-14-111"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_18_1","volume-title":"The Taliban's War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan","author":"Iacopino V","year":"1998"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(17)30139-0"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12884-025-08458-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7189\/jogh.11.03126"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10995-025-04108-4"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2024-018577"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_24_1","unstructured":"International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (adopted 16 December 1966 entered into force 3 January 1976) 993 UNTS 3 [ICESCR]entered into force for Afghanistan 24 April 1983."},{"key":"e_1_2_14_25_1","unstructured":"UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.General comment no 14: the right to the highest attainable standard of health (art 12 of the Covenant) UNESCOR 22nd Sess UN Doc E\/C.12\/2000\/4.2000. Para 14."},{"key":"e_1_2_14_26_1","unstructured":"UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.General comment no 14: the right to the highest attainable standard of health (art 12 of the Covenant) UNESCOR 22nd Sess UN Doc E\/C.12\/2000\/4.2000. Para 21."},{"key":"e_1_2_14_27_1","unstructured":"The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 18 December 1979 1249 UNTS 13 (entered into force 3 September 1981) [CEDAW]. Entered into force for Afghanistan 4 April 2003. Article 12."},{"key":"e_1_2_14_28_1","unstructured":"Convention on the Rights of the Child 20 November 1989 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) [CRC]. Entered into force for Afghanistan 28 April 1994. Article 24."},{"key":"e_1_2_14_29_1","unstructured":"Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 13 December 2006 2515 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 May 2008) [CRPD]. Entered into force for Afghanistan 18 October 2012. 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