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STORY: UN / UNFPA AFGHANISTAN PRESSER
TRT: 02:49
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 MAY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
14 MAY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, journalists, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for Management, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“But what I was shocked during my visit to Afghanistan, over many of the facilities in many of the places I visit, was the actual frequency of seeing young girls receiving counseling or seeking support from their peers. Depressed teenagers who cannot pursue their education, their chosen careers, often channeled into early marriage and motherhood, and often and usually unable to move without the permission and accompaniment of a male. This was the biggest tragedy. See a country of so much potential and opportunity to be. But we see that it is denied to half of the population.”
4. Wide shot, speakers, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for Management, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“Funding cuts in Afghanistan will result in lives lost. It will also result in an enormous amount of lives, although not lost, are less lived. UNFPA aims to reach 7.3 million people in Afghanistan, 80 percent of who are women and girls with reproductive health and psychosocial support services this year. Already, Afghanistan is already one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with every two hours a mother dies from preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.”
6. Wide shot, speakers, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for Management, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“US, in its recent cuts, has cut over 330 million in global funding to UNFPA to its cuts to its vital lifesaving projects that were already underway or have been committed to be starting in the coming months. A third of those cuts were reflected in the Asia Pacific region, and Afghanistan was the hardest hit cuts of 102 million. In Afghanistan, this funding was mostly for the provision of Family Health houses and mobile health teams and psychosocial support services. And now, as a result of the cut, 6.3 million people, mostly women and girls, are losing access to this life saving care.”
8. Med shot, speakers
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for Management, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“UNFPA will be staying to deliver, but we cannot sustain our response without help. We need urgent support to keep these services running and protect the dignity, health and lives of Afghan women and newborns. There are no birth plans in Afghanistan, only survival plans, and that reality demands us actions and not just words.”
10. Wide shot, speakers, journalists
“There are no birth plans in Afghanistan, only survival plans,” a UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Senior official said.
Andrew Saberton, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director for Management, briefed the press today (14 May), on his recent trip to Afghanistan.
He said, “What I was shocked during my visit to Afghanistan, over many of the facilities in many of the places I visit, was the actual frequency of seeing young girls receiving counseling or seeking support from their peers. Depressed teenagers who cannot pursue their education, their chosen careers, often channeled into early marriage and motherhood, and often and usually unable to move without the permission and accompaniment of a male. This was the biggest tragedy. See a country of so much potential and opportunity to be. But we see that it is denied to half of the population.”
He highlighted, “Funding cuts in Afghanistan will result in lives lost. It will also result in an enormous amount of lives, although not lost, are less lived. UNFPA aims to reach 7.3 million people in Afghanistan, 80 percent of who are women and girls with reproductive health and psychosocial support services this year. Already, Afghanistan is already one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with every two hours a mother dies from preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.”
He stressed, “US, in its recent cuts, has cut over 330 million in global funding to UNFPA to its cuts to its vital lifesaving projects that were already underway or have been committed to be starting in the coming months. A third of those cuts were reflected in the Asia Pacific region, and Afghanistan was the hardest hit cuts of 102 million. In Afghanistan, this funding was mostly for the provision of Family Health houses and mobile health teams and psychosocial support services. And now, as a result of the cut, 6.3 million people, mostly women and girls, are losing access to this life saving care.”
He stated, “UNFPA will be staying to deliver, but we cannot sustain our response without help. We need urgent support to keep these services running and protect the dignity, health and lives of Afghan women and newborns. There are no birth plans in Afghanistan, only survival plans, and that reality demands us actions and not just words.”
