Thank you.
UNFPA stands in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan. We remain deeply concerned about the de facto authority's decision to ban female aid workers from working in humanitarian NGOs. In Afghanistan, UNFPA's work includes the provision of maternal reproductive health and psychosocial support services. To date, we have been able to keep over 1,400 female service providers, as the health sector has been exempted from that recent decree banning female aid workers.
Our delivery points are functional; however, the overarching issue of the insistence on equal treatment and equality for women is the fundamental issue there. We also work through microsystems of clinics, which may be small, household-based clinics, and also mobile clinics because the terrain is so challenging. Ultimately, the women and girls of Afghanistan need tremendous amounts of support during a season of hunger and cold. Protection during childbirth is one of the aims that we do share.
Thank you.